The Bachelor star Sam Wood will almost certainly be granted bail on his third last-ditch attempt, according to an eminent barrister, King's Counsel (KC) and former judge.
uncertain
star → grant → barrister
Speaking exclusively to the Mail on condition of anonymity, the KC said Wood could secure his release when he returns to court on November 17.
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he → speak → November
By then, the 46-year-old will have spent more than six weeks in prison, mostly in the overcrowded Wolston Correctional Centre, which houses more than 900 maximum-security inmates.
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which → spend → inmates
But the disgraced TV star faces a stark new reality upon release – an accused offender, estranged from his wife and children, his businesses ruined, and a social pariah.
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businesses → face → wife
The multi-million dollar fitness entrepreneur has been held in the facility for high-profile prisoners since his first unsuccessful bail application on October 8, and was expected to walk out – only to be refused again last week.
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entrepreneur → hold → October
The KC said he was surprised Wood failed to convince a judge on October 30 that he did not pose a risk to the community, his estranged wife, or his stepdaughter Eve – risks that, in theory, could be managed under strict conditions.
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that → say → conditions
Those conditions would include barring the disgraced fitness influencer from entering Victoria, where his family lives; restricting him to one mobile phone; banning encrypted apps and social media; requiring regular police reporting; prohibiting alcohol and drugs; and allowing officers to test him at any time.
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officers → include → time
'He is clear of any criminal history, he has been a success in business and the likely sentence is a major factor,' the KC told the Mail.
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KC → tell → Mail
Sam Wood will emerge into a new world where his businesses are gone, his family is estranged, and he is a bachelor once more - this time facing police reporting requirements and possibly a tracking anklet
Snezana Wood, seen without her wedding ring after the alleged choking incident, told Queensland Police she supported their proceeding with charges against Sam
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she → emerge → Sam
If the time he would spend in prison if not granted bail is longer than the sentence he would get, that is a big factor.
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that → spend → sentence
I don't think so.
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I → think → ?
The risk can be mitigated with heavy security, like the $1million surety that has been offered and all the conditions.
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that → mitigate → surety
I would think he is a walk-up start for getting bail any day of the week.'
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he → think → week
The KC said he was not surprised that Wood's initial bail application in Maroochydore Local Court five days after his arrest had been unsuccessful.
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application → say → arrest
Wood did not appear via AVL or in person at his first, brief court hearing two days after his arrest, but was on screen for his first court bail application, on Thursday, October 8, looking dishevelled and slumped forward in a prison green sweatshirt, his eyes downcast.
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eyes → appear → sweatshirt
On that occasion, a police officer told the court that Snezana did not oppose police proceeding with the charges against her husband and that, while Wood was allegedly strangling her, she 'had thought she was going to die'.
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she → tell → her
In a recorded police interview, Snezana had described being choked, not being able to breathe, and banging her head against the floor.
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Snezana → record → floor
That bail hearing was told Snezana, who was by then back in Victoria with her children, was 'in fear of retribution of the defendant' and acting Magistrate Janelle Boegheim denied Wood bail.
Snezana and Sam Wood, pictured in 2018 before they married and had three young children
The KC said that it was now 'increasingly unusual for magistrates to give bail and on high-profile domestic violence matters, they are scared of letting people out in case they go back to the complainant and kill them'.
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they → tell → them
'But going to the Supreme Court, I have a very good success rate because a judge will not want - if it's likely to be a shorter sentence - being on remand and refused bail to be the start of the sentence or the sentence itself.
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being → go → sentence
Sometimes when you miss out and have the right to apply to the Court of Criminal Appeal in NSW, or the Court of Appeal in Queensland, where your success rates are about 50 per cent.
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rates → miss → Queensland
'If it is error-based it would be pretty easy to find error [with the previous decision].'
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it → base → decision
The Notice of Appeal seen by the Mail relies heavily on the assertion that Supreme Court Justice Patrick McCafferty's decision last week to refuse Wood's second bail application was flawed.
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Notice → see → application
The reality TV star's lawyers claim McCafferty, who was only sworn in as a Supreme Court of Queensland judge just under a year ago, made several errors and that his refusal was 'unreasonable or plainly unjust'.
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refusal → claim → errors
The appeal claims McCafferty – who also considered the prosecutor's argument that Wood could 'obstruct the course of justice [and] interfere with the witness' Eve - erred in failing to consider whether the proposed conditions, individually or in combination would reduce the risk of further offending'.
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conditions → claim → offending
The KC agreed that probably 'too much weight may have been given to one factor.
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weight → agree → factor
If I had been on the Supreme Court, I would have bailed him in ten seconds.
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I → bail → seconds
I wouldn't have worried about his notoriety.
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I → worry → notoriety
Stepdaughter Eve (pictured in Noosa prior to the alleged incident) called emergency services at 9.20pm and police arrived to arrest Sam and take him away to the watchhouse
Sam Wood's fitness empire '28 by Sam Wood' no longer exists with partners stripping his name from websites
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partners → picture → websites
One of the keys to winning bail is to have tightly written submissions filed to the court well in advance - tight and to the point and no bull s**t.
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One → win → point
On bail, Wood is likely to live with his father, Andrew Wood, in Hobart, where he grew up and where Wood Sr was a well-liked restaurant manager at Fish Frenzy, a popular waterfront seafood outlet on the city's iconic finger wharf, the Elizabeth Street Pier.
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Sr → live → wharf
Sam has two younger siblings, sister Hannah and brother Alex, who also live in Tasmania, where his lawyers have indicated he would remain if released later this month.
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he → have → Tasmania
Wood's last moments of freedom were on the Saturday night before he was due to fly home, just before being arrested inside the $3,000-a-night La Mer resort in Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.
He and Snezana, who met in 2015 on the third season of The Bachelor Australia, and married in 2018, were holidaying with their three young daughters.
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who → fly → daughters
Joining them in Noosa for the week was Wood's 21-year-old stepdaughter, Eve Markoski-Wood, home from her studies at New York fashion school the Parsons School of Design.
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stepdaughter → join → Design
Before going out to dinner, where he consumed several drinks, Wood had made his last public statement via his 28 by Sam Wood private community Facebook page.
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Wood → go → page
He had sold his fitness and training business 28 by Sam Wood in 2022 to DBC Health for $71million but was still retained on its payroll and as its face and name.
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He → sell → face
Inmates at Wolston Correctional Centre where TV star Sam Wood is currently locked up
Andrew Wood, second right, pictured at his retirement party as restaurant manager of Fish Frenzy in Hobart in 2020, is likely to be housing his son Sam Wood if the fallen Bachelor star is released on $1million bail
After extolling the delights of their school holiday activities, Wood wrote: 'Sometimes you don't realise how low your battery is until you plug in and recharge and I was almost flat.
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I → lock → activities
But I'm back, baby, and can't wait to see you all more than ever before from Monday.
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I → wait → Monday
I mean it.
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I → mean → it
You'll be sick of seeing so much of me.
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You → see → me
After he allegedly strangled his wife to the floor at 9.20pm, Eve called Triple-Zero, bringing paramedics – and then police – into the luxury apartment.
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Eve → strangle → apartment
…and 20 more, not listed.
The Aporia
