Photos of woman’s injuries tendered as Sam Wood fights for bail

The wife of former Bachelor star Sam Wood told police she feared he would kill her during an argument in which he threw her into a wall twice, before choking her and banging her head on the floor, prompting her daughter to call Triple Zero.

Wood was denied bail by a Queensland magistrate on Thursday, as details of the case against the 46-year-old millionaire fitness guru were revealed for the first time.

Snezana told police they argued after returning from dinner to their holiday unit on Noosa’s Hastings Street, over her wanting to pack for their departure the following day, and her husband wanting to go to bed.

He pushed Snezana into a wardrobe, the court heard, before the argument spilled into the hallway. Her daughter – Wood’s stepdaughter, Eve Markoski-Wood – told him to stop yelling.

Acting Magistrate Janelle Boegheim said in response to that, Wood approached Eve aggressively, and Snezana then intervened, placing herself in Wood’s path, telling him to leave her daughter alone.

Wood then grabbed his wife by the throat with one hand, throwing her against the wall and striking her head, Boegheim said.

“Then, while keeping a firm hold of [Snezana], he has thrown her to the ground and whilst on the ground held her throat, gripping tighter and restricting her airway, preventing her from breathing,” Boegheim said.

Snezana attempted to free herself, and scream for help, the court heard.

“But [she] was unable to do so, saying to police, she was scared and thought [her husband] was going to kill her,” Boegheim said.

Snezana suffered bruising to the upper left side of her forehead and grazes to her hands.

“She said to police that during the ordeal she thought that this was it and her life was going to end,” Boegheim said.

The court heard Wood was prone to anger, and that Snezana felt she had walked on eggshells.

Boegheim said Wood had recalled pushing his wife away, and that there was an incident, but that was the extent of it.

“He explicitly denies strangling or causing bodily harm to his wife,” she said.

Boegheim ultimately determined Wood would be an unacceptable risk if released, after hearing the prosecution case included Snezana referring to a previous alleged domestic violence in Victoria.

There were no charges laid in that matter, the court heard.

As the decision was handed down, Wood hunched over, putting his head in his hands. At times throughout the bail hearing, he sat with his hands clasped, often looking at the ground.

After the hearing, Sam Wood’s lawyer Mathew Cuskelly indicated the legal team would appeal the decision in the Supreme Court.

Earlier, Cuskelly said the circumstances may entitle his client to a self-defence argument.

He said Snezana had engaged with Wood in a “hostile manner”, and had been yelling at him.

Wood pushed her, Cuskelly said, and he denied any accusation of strangulation.

Cuskelly referred to a report tendered to the court by an attending paramedic, which he said detailed markings on the left side of the complainant’s neck.

The lawyer said there was a lack of information provided by emergency services, and given the gravity of the allegations, there was minimal indication of what was being asserted by the complainant.

He said while the prosecution had tendered two photos of the alleged victim’s injuries, there was a lack of photos of the neck.

“Given that seems to be the focus of the alleged assault, one would assume investigators would have photographed that particular area, but they are absent,” Cuskelly said.

Police prosecutor Jeannette Grigoris said police had been in contact with Snezana, who was “supportive of the charges”.

She said the Triple Zero call by Wood’s stepdaughter Eve supported the allegation of choking. “She refers to the victim having been choked.”

Grigoris said Snezana explained in her video-recorded interview that she was choked, could not breathe, and had her head banged on the floor.

She said Wood only stopped when someone intervened.

Grigoris referred to the nature and seriousness of the alleged offending, in which the complainant essentially referred to how she “thought she was going to die”, and was “in fear for her safety”.

Wood was supported in court by his father, Andrew Wood, after members of Wood’s immediate family returned to their home in Melbourne’s Brighton earlier this week, with the couple’s young children heading back to school.

The court heard Andrew Wood, who had tendered an affidavit supporting his son, had flown from Tasmania for the hearing. Cuskelly said if granted bail, Sam Wood would reside with his father in Victoria, and try to salvage what was left of his career and reputation.

Cuskelly said Wood had no previous criminal history, and had been diagnosed with severe depression.

He said after Wood had been arrested, he asked for a lawyer two or three times, and police had pressed for a record of interview.

Boegheim said she had denied bail because of Wood’s risk of reoffending.

“All offences of domestic violence are serious and require strong community denunciation,” she said.

She said strangulation was recognised by the courts as a particularly grave form of domestic violence.

“It can cause catastrophic and long-term physical and psychological harm, not always immediately apparent at the time of the offence,” she said.

After his arrest and as he remained in custody, Wood and Snezana, who met during season three of The Bachelor in 2015, issued a statement on Monday morning, describing it as a “difficult time”.

“This is a difficult time for all of us, we are working through this as a family and are cooperating with authorities,” it read.

After The Bachelor, Wood went on to build online fitness and nutrition business 28 by Sam Wood. It was bought by billionaire businessman Dennis Bastas in 2022 for $71 million.

Bastas issued a strong message of not tolerating domestic violence earlier this week, as he dropped Wood, who had remained as the face of the online workout platform, from the company.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service (1800RESPECT) on 1800 737 732.

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