Former Bachelor star Sam Wood, 46, appeared in a Queensland court via video link after being arrested on domestic violence charges in Noosa, where he is accused of choking and assaulting a woman who told police she thought she would die. Police allege that a similar incident occurred at his home in Victoria about three years ago but was not reported due to fear of retribution. Wood, currently held without bail, faces charges including assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation, with the prosecution arguing he poses an unacceptable risk. His lawyer claims Wood suffers from severe depression and seeks to protect his career while seeking mental health support.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-08,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
A woman who was allegedly choked and assaulted by the former Bachelor star Sam Wood told police she “thought she was going to die”, a Queensland court heard on Thursday.
uncertain
court → choke → Thursday
The court also heard that police in Victoria had attended Wood’s home in relation to a similar incident about three years ago, but that the woman had not wanted to make a complaint at that time out of “fear of retribution”.
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woman → hear → retribution
Wood, a 46-year-old wellness influencer from Melbourne, was denied bail in a Queensland court on Thursday and will be held in custody indefinitely awaiting trial, after police argued his behaviour was “escalating” and that he posed an unacceptable risk.
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he → deny → risk
Wood appeared in court via video link from the Maroochydore police watch house cells, where he had been held for about four days.
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he → appear → days
He was arrested at Noosa on the Sunshine Coast on Sunday and charged with two domestic violence offences: assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a domestic setting.
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He → arrest → setting
In outlining the prosecution case, police prosecutor Jeanette Grigoris said the brief of evidence included a triple zero call made by a family member, photographs of the victim’s injuries, and a video-recorded statement by the complainant.
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brief → outline → complainant
Grigoris said the complainant was supportive of the charges proceeding.
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complainant → say → proceeding
Wood’s lawyer has indicated the reality TV star will fight the charges.
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star → indicate → charges
The court heard that in the video statement, the woman alleges she was choked and that “there was a cessation of breath”.
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she → hear → breath
“She articulates the banging of her head on the floor.
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She → articulate → floor
She couldn’t breathe,” Grigoris said.
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Grigoris → breathe → ?
“She thought she was going to die.”
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she → think → ?
Grigoris said the video statement by the woman also refers to a previous matter in Victoria “being of a similar nature” and “involved choking”.
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matter → say → choking
The court heard that in a police interview, recorded about midnight on Sunday morning.
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court → hear → morning
Wood denied that any previous incident had taken place in Victoria.
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incident → deny → Victoria
Grigoris said there was body-worn camera footage of police attending his home and a police report in relation to that incident.
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police → say → incident
Grigoris said the woman “did not make any criminal complaints on that occasion, she was in fear of retribution of the defendant.”
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she → say → defendant
Grigoris also raised concern that Wood, during his police interview, minimised his part in the alleged offending, and minimised the injuries suffered by the woman.
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Wood → raise → woman
“He’s essentially victim blamed,” she said.
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she → blame → ?
Wood’s lawyer, Matthew Cuskelly, sought bail and said his client denied the allegations.
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client → seek → allegations
He cited a psychologist’s report that said Wood was suffering from “severe depression”.
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Wood → cite → depression
“He ought to be given the opportunity to engage with mental health professionals,” Cuskelly said.
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Cuskelly → give → professionals
“And also try to salvage something of his professional reputation and career, which is taking a hell of a beating at the moment.
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which → try → moment
“Ultimately, as all families have, there was problems.
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families → have → ?
And my client had been enduring the hardship of attempting to quarantine those problems from his family for some period of time.
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client → endure → time
Cuskelly cited a psychologist’s report that describes ‘the difficulty that my client has been enduring in respect of the deterioration of his psychological state”.
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client → cite → state
“His depression is regarded as extremely severe.”
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depression → regard → ?
Cuskelly said Wood had no prior criminal history and if granted bail would reside in Victoria with his father, Andrew Wood, who attended the court in support of his son.
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who → say → son
Acting magistrate Janelle Boegheim said she was not satisfied by the defence argument that the case against Wood was weak.
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case → act → Wood
Boegheim said it was likely the charges, if proven, would attract a term in prison.
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charges → say → prison
Wood was stood down by his own fitness empire, 28 by Sam Wood, on Monday, a day after he was charged.
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he → stand → Monday
“We have all been shocked and saddened by the matters involving Sam Wood,” said Mark Watkin, the group’s acting chief executive.
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Watkin → shock → Wood
“We have zero tolerance for domestic violence.
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We → have → violence
“Our thoughts are with the family and anyone in the community affected by domestic violence.”
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thoughts → affect → violence
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Support for anyone affected by the subject matter of this report is available at Full Stop Australia (1800 385 578)
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Support → affect → Australia
The Aporia
