Denise: Charlie Said He'd Kill Me

In court papers filed Friday, Denise Richards claims that her estranged husband, Charlie Sheen, threatened to kill her.

"I am filing now because I can no longer accept (Sheen's) abusive and threatening manner and must stop him from the cycle of his abuse toward me and our children and his continued threats of violence and statements that he is going to kill me," Richards, 35, says in papers filed in Los Angeles Superior Court.

In his own filing, Sheen, 40, denies two specific claims that he threatened and hit Richards on Dec. 27 and 30 of last year, saying, "I deny having engaged in any such conduct."

In a statement issued first to PEOPLE by Richards's rep on Friday, the actress said, "I am disappointed that the situation has deteriorated to the point that it has become necessary to seek the assistance of the court. However, my primary concern is and always has been the welfare of the children and this action today was taken to ensure their safety as well as mine."

Sheen issued a statement of his own on Friday, calling Richards's allegations "a most obvious immature and transparent smear campaign designed to hurt, embarrass and ultimately extort me."

The statement continues, "I deeply regret (that) her response to my request for the court to decide what’s best for our children has taken the form of baseless allegations that I deny. For the sake of my children, I am electing not to reciprocate in kind.”

Richards originally filed for divorce in March of last year, when she was six months pregnant with the couple's second child, Lola, now 10 months old. She and Sheen also have a 2-year-old daughter, Sam.

Source: PEOPLE