Gibson ex-girlfriend 'feared for her life' during fight

Giving her first public account of an argument she claims turned violent, the Russian-born musician, pictured left, accuses the Braveheart star of hitting and choking her and claims he had a gun during the confrontation in January.

"I was scared for my life and my daughter's," she told People magazine in a story published yesterday. "I thought he would kill me."

Grigorieva also told the magazine she did not leak now-famous tapes purportedly of the actor in a series of racist and misogynistic rants. Audio of the actor-director's rants was leaked to celebrity website RadarOnline.com, which has said the tapes did not come from Grigorieva.

The recordings were made a month after the alleged physical abuse.

Gibson's representatives did not participate in the People story and declined to comment on Grigorieva's interview.

She did not report the alleged abuse to authorities until months later, after the couple broke up and became embroiled in a bitter custody dispute over their baby daughter.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has completed an investigation into Grigorieva's domestic violence claims and turned its results over to prosecutors.

The agency also is investigating Grigorieva after Gibson claimed she tried to extort him.

Grigorieva, who is living in a home provided by the actor, said she did not immediately report the violence in part because she did not want to humiliate him.