Sam Wood has been denied bail after prosecutors told a court his wife thought she was going to die during an alleged domestic violence attack at a holiday property in Noosa.
The 46-year-old Bachelor star and fitness guru appeared by video link at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday. He is charged with assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting.
Prosecutor Sergeant Jeanette Grigoris alleged that Wood choked Snezana Wood, a Perth-raised woman, and banged her head on the floor during a family argument on Saturday night.
“The victim refers to she thought she was going to die, and she was in fear of her safety,” Sergeant Grigoris told the court.
“She does articulate there’s choking … banging of her head on the floor, she couldn’t breathe. The defendant only stopped when one of the children called out.”
The court heard that Wood’s 21-year-old stepdaughter allegedly called Triple-0 after the incident.
Wood’s lawyer denied the charges and said his client could argue self-defence if the case proceeded to trial.
“My client may indeed be entitled to a self-defence argument,” he said. “He is indicating a set of circumstances that may result in that.”
The lawyer added: “Importantly, there is a denial in respect to any strangulation.”
He told the court the dispute began when his client’s stepdaughter engaged with him “in a hostile matter”, and that Wood pushed his wife away.
Prosecutors also alleged police had previously attended the couple’s home over an incident of a similar nature. Although Wood denied the earlier incident, Sergeant Grigoris said police body-worn camera footage showed officers attending the property and confirmed a police report had been made.
The defence lawyer said no criminal complaint had been made on that occasion because the woman was allegedly “in fear of retribution of the defendant”.
Wood was remanded in custody until November 23.
