Bail arguments focus on alleged risk
Former The Bachelor contestant and fitness personality Sam Wood has faced a fresh bail hearing in Australia, with prosecutors arguing that he should remain in custody over allegations involving his wife, Snezana Wood. The proceedings have also brought discussion of the couple’s relationship, including claims about volatility, partying and alcohol and drug use.
Wood, 46, has been held on remand after being accused of attacking Snezana at a holiday unit in Noosa, north of Brisbane, on October 3. The allegations include throwing her against a wall, choking her and striking her head on the floor. They have not been tested at trial, and Wood has not been convicted of any offence.
At the Brisbane Supreme Court hearing on Friday, prosecutor Jessica Guy told Justice Patrick McCafferty that bail should be refused. She argued that the alleged strangulation represented an unacceptable danger to the complainant and could be an indicator of escalation in domestic violence offending. The prosecution also told the court that Wood was alleged to have behaved in a similar way on more than one occasion.
Wood did not attend the hearing in person or by video link. His barrister, Paula Morreau KC, said the couple were expected to separate and proposed that he live with his father, Andrew Wood, in Tasmania if released. She said the move would place him among strong family connections and established social networks, while reducing the potential risk to Snezana and to the wider public.
Defence outlines proposed arrangements
Morreau accepted that the charges were serious and said she was not seeking to minimise them. The offences carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison. However, she submitted that Wood could spend longer on remand than any eventual period without parole if he were convicted, while also arguing that it was unlikely his trial would take place within 12 months.
The defence suggested that a head sentence of two years would be a more probable outcome, with parole potentially available after one year. Those submissions relate to the defence’s bail argument rather than a finding by the court about the likely result of any future trial. The Supreme Court has yet to determine whether Wood will be released and on what conditions.
“He is a man who has never before faced a charge.”
The court was told that Wood accepted his lifestyle had involved notable partying, alcohol and drug use, and that his relationship with his wife had experienced periods of volatility. Morreau said there was no suggestion that he was addicted and maintained that he had the capacity to control his behaviour. The defence also relied on his lack of previous charges as part of its case for release.
What the court must consider
The hearing places the competing arguments in sharp relief: the prosecution says the nature of the allegations creates an unacceptable risk, while the defence proposes relocation and family supervision as safeguards. Any decision will concern bail and risk management, not whether the allegations have been proved. The case is also a reminder that claims aired in a bail hearing are not a substitute for evidence tested during a trial.
- Accused: Sam Wood, 46, a former Bachelor contestant and fitness personality.
- Allegations: assaultive behaviour including choking, throwing and striking the complainant.
- Proposed bail address: his father’s home in Tasmania.
- Maximum penalty cited: seven years in prison.
Wood met Snezana on the set of The Bachelor, and the couple have since been publicly associated with the programme and its wider celebrity culture. Their personal circumstances are now being considered through the formal processes of the Australian justice system. Until the court rules on bail, and unless a trial establishes otherwise, the allegations remain allegations.
