Secret Files Detail Allegations of Abuse by Sam Wood — and Why He Reportedly Wants Them Hidden

Confidential court records describing the night Sam Wood was accused of strangling his wife, Snezana, along with earlier allegations of abuse, are at the centre of the Bachelor star’s fight to keep evidence suppressed as he makes a final attempt to secure bail.

The reality television personality is expected to make his third bail application either this Friday or on November 17, using a rarely pursued avenue through Queensland’s highest court, the Court of Appeal.

For the disgraced fitness entrepreneur, whose reported $70million fortune has largely collapsed, the hearing may represent his last opportunity to leave custody.

His legal representatives have lodged an appeal that sharply criticises the Supreme Court judge who rejected his previous bail bid last week.

They argue Justice Patrick McCafferty failed to properly assess proposed safeguards, including Wood’s participation in a men’s behavioural change program, before deciding he presented too great a risk to Snezana, his stepdaughter Eve and the wider community.

Such programs remain controversial. Critics say simply enrolling in a behavioural course does not guarantee an alleged offender will change and should not, by itself, be treated as proof that the risk of future violence has been reduced.

The appeal also challenges the court’s refusal to suppress a number of “untested and uncharged allegations” previously aired during open proceedings through a non-publication order.

Among those claims is an allegation that Wood choked or strangled Snezana in 2021. Police attended the incident, but no charges were laid.

The stakes are high for Sam Wood, pictured with estranged wife Snezana, as he makes a final bid for freedom while seeking to keep allegations of past abuse out of the public domain

Wood’s final bail application is expected to be heard on Friday or later this month, with proposed conditions preventing him from approaching Snezana or his stepdaughter Eve, pictured on Sunday

That incident, photographs Snezana allegedly retained showing injuries, and other claims concerning past abuse are now covered by a suppression application filed by Wood’s lawyers. A group of media organisations, including the Daily Mail, is opposing the application.

The names and addresses of people who supported Wood’s bail application have also been removed from official documents. Whether those details should be released will be considered by the higher court.

Wood’s legal team, which includes a Brisbane King’s Counsel and the Noosa firm hired after he was taken to the Maroochydore watchhouse following his October 3 arrest, is seeking an urgent hearing likely to take place late next week.

A bench of at least three Queensland Supreme Court judges will consider whether Justice McCafferty gave “no proper consideration” to the length of time Wood has already spent behind bars.

Wood has been in custody for more than a month following the alleged attack on October 3 at a luxury Noosa villa costing about $3,000 a night. The incident allegedly occurred the evening before Wood, Snezana and their children were due to return to Melbourne.

He is being held at the maximum-security Wolston Correctional Centre, where other inmates include convicted child murderer Brett Peter Cowan and wife-killer Gerard Baden-Clay.

Although defendants appealing to the Court of Appeal commonly remain in custody while judges consider their cases, the Mail understands the bench could release Wood on bail and issue its written reasons later.

Wood’s Notice of Appeal was filed on Tuesday afternoon, before Justice McCafferty had formally published his reasons for rejecting the 46-year-old’s bail application.

Legal sources with experience in criminal matters told the Mail that Wood’s third and final “throw at the stumps” could be “pushing it”, warning that the seriousness of the allegations — including the possibility that Snezana could have died — heightened the risks associated with releasing him.

Justice McCafferty described the charges as involving “choking, suffocation and strangulation in a domestic setting, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm”. The offences are indictable and could ultimately be heard by a jury.

Snezana Wood was photographed in August 2025 wearing a dressing on her neck. The court heard an allegation that Sam Wood choked her during an assault in 2021

Wood, 46, may have lost some of his physical conditioning during more than a month at the reportedly harsh Wolston Correctional Centre west of Brisbane

During last week’s hearing, Wood’s lawyers said the father of three young daughters and stepfather of 21-year-old Eve Markoski-Wood, Snezana’s daughter from an earlier marriage, was willing to remain outside Victoria, where his wife and her family live.

The court heard that his two-decade fitness business had been left in a “precarious state” since his arrest. His 28 by Sam Wood program was rebranded, with Wood’s name and image removed, before the unsuccessful bail hearing.

Proposed conditions included relocating to Tasmania or living at a Brisbane address with a family member described as having “a very sensitive profession and a young child”.

His lawyers argued that Wood is “very recognisable” and would travel to Queensland for court only through regular channels. They also submitted that his time on remand could ultimately exceed any sentence imposed.

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The appeal argues Justice McCafferty gave “no, or no proper consideration” to that submission. Wood’s barrister, Paula Morreau KC, estimated that any sentence would be no more than two years, with approximately 12 months served in custody.

Morreau offered a $1million surety from a family member, which would be forfeited if Wood absconded or breached his bail. She said he would live “on an island surrounded by sea” with his father and two siblings.

The appeal claims the judge failed to assess whether the proposed conditions, separately or together, could reduce the risk of further offending to an acceptable level — and failed to explain why they would not do so.

Snezana Wood was pictured last week with two of the daughters she shares with Sam

The court described an earlier allegation that Wood choked Snezana as “credible”, despite no charges being laid; photographs said to show her injuries are still in existence

Wood’s lawyers further argue that Justice McCafferty should have issued a suppression order covering the “untested and uncharged allegations”, which they say could prejudice their client’s right to a fair trial.

They are asking the Court of Appeal to overturn the bail refusal and release Wood under the proposed conditions, or under any other terms the judges consider appropriate.

Those conditions would include surrendering his passport, avoiding alcohol and drugs, and having no contact with the complainant, Snezana, or the key witness, Eve.

The proposed behavioural intervention could involve Wood enrolling in Tasmania’s Men Engaging New Strategies Program. The Hobart-based course says it aims to improve safety for women and children by helping participants reduce and prevent harmful behaviour.

The program is intended for men who are assessed as using family violence at a low to medium level.

Wood’s outstanding suppression application is expected to be listed separately from the bail appeal.

During last week’s hearing, Justice McCafferty repeatedly referred to the principle of open justice when considering proposed orders that would conceal the names of Wood’s relatives and friends, who have attracted intense media attention.

Morreau argued that media activity had gone beyond simply reporting on the court proceedings.

If granted bail, Wood would face the task of rebuilding his life after the allegations. Conditions would prohibit contact with Snezana and Eve, the principal witness, pictured here with him

Wood is expected to live in Tasmania with his father, Andrew, if released. Andrew is pictured at Hobart’s Fish Frenzy restaurant, which he managed before retiring in 2020

She referred to journalists waiting outside homes where family members lived and monitoring people’s movements at those properties.

Justice McCafferty responded that many of the addresses were already available to the public and media, adding that “the last I checked, privacy wasn’t a reason alone to suppress information”.

However, the new appeal notice argues that the primary judge was wrong to conclude a non-publication order was unnecessary to prevent prejudice to the proper administration of justice.

Justice McCafferty ultimately said he could not be satisfied that Wood would not pose an unacceptable risk if released.

Wood’s lawyers are now asking the Court of Appeal to find that the decision to refuse bail was “unreasonable or plainly unjust”.

Andrew Wood, pictured facing the media after his son’s failed bail hearing last Friday, is believed to have provided the $1million surety proposed for Sam’s release

If the three appeal judges reject Wood’s application and uphold Justice McCafferty’s ruling, he will remain at Wolston Correctional Centre west of Brisbane

The judges will hear submissions from both sides before deciding whether the original hearing involved an error of law or whether a significant fact was overlooked.

They can dismiss the appeal and leave Justice McCafferty’s decision intact, meaning Wood would remain imprisoned until trial — a proceeding that may not occur until 2028. Alternatively, they could overturn the refusal and impose new bail conditions, allowing the television personality to leave custody.

If released, Wood is expected to return to Hobart and live with his father, who is in his seventies, as he attempts to determine whether anything can be salvaged from the collapse of his personal and professional life.

If bail is refused, he will have more time to reflect inside his two-by-four-metre cell, which includes a shower and toilet, on the events alleged to have preceded October 3: mounting tensions and increasingly frequent confrontations with Snezana, alleged drug use and partying, the breakdown of his once-publicly celebrated marriage and the alleged words directed at Snezana and Eve that they “can both die”.