I am so sorry this happened to you.
My father had an almost identical thing happen. He lived next door to an evil old man who had been poisoning my parents' cats. My father and him had a verbal confrontation in the driveway out front. The man ran into his house and my father went back to yardwork, upset but thinking it was over. A few minutes later several police cruisers came racing into his driveway. The neighbor ran out of his house with cuts and abrasions on his face and neck. He said my father had attacked him wearing leather gloves and the injuries were from that. They arrested my father (this is a man who was a mild mannered, law-abiding professional!) and hauled him off to jail for assault.
It was a small town and as it turns out, the neighbor was a retired fireman and he had 'connections' at the PD. They treated my father so badly. He wound up having to retain a criminal defense attorney. The charges were eventually dropped by the DA, who admonished the police involved and seemed to get what had happened.
As for your safety, I strongly encourage you to be smart and be prepared to defend yourself. There is no telling what your AH is capable of doing. Years ago I was the victim of a home invasion robbery. It was a life changing experience and I thought I was going to die. I am still amazed that I survived it. Afterward, I learned to shoot and I own a gun for home defense. The
NRA has a great women's program with classes for beginners all over the country. There is no shame in learning to shoot and being prepared to protect yourself and your kids.