Former reality TV contestant Sam James Wood is set to spend at least another six months behind bars in south-east Queensland, after his second failed bail bid.
The 46-year-old is expected to face trial sometime between mid-2027 and the first quarter of 2028, the Queensland Supreme Court heard on Friday.
Mr Wood is facing assault occasioning bodily harm and strangulation charges relating to offending alleged to have occurred on October 3 at Noosa, during a family holiday with his wife and stepdaughter.
As of Saturday morning, the former Bachelor has spent 28 nights in custody.
'Extremely serious' allegations
Yesterday Justice Peter McCafferty denied Mr Wood's bail application in Brisbane, citing he had not been convinced the risk of the 46-year-old committing further offending, interfering with witnesses or being a risk to the safety and wellbeing of others had been reduced enough to grant his release.
He described the accusations aimed at the former Bachelor as "extremely serious", though stressed they remained allegations until being tested at trial.
Arguments for when that would likely be were heard in court on Friday, with Crown prosecutor Jessica Guy estimating a trial could be listed as soon as May next year, through to sometime in August.
However, Mr Wood's defence lawyer Paula Morreau said that was "unrealistic", with a timeframe between mid-2027 and the first quarter of 2028 more likely.
In handing down his decision, Justice McCafferty told the court the case against Mr Wood was "not a weak one", and would likely rely on the written statements and recorded police interviews with Snezana Wood and her daughter.
The Crown said it will also aim to have photographs Snezana Wood took following a previous alleged incident of strangulation in Victoria five years ago admitted at trial, though Mr Wood's barrister is expected to argue those images be ruled inadmissible.
New strangulation definition in Queensland
Yesterday, the length of time Mr Wood could spend in prison on remand was put forward as a factor for why he should be released on bail.
Ms Morreau stated the timeframe would likely be more than any eventual sentence Mr Wood would receive if later convicted.
The court heard both the defence and prosecutors agreed the maximum head sentence he would likely receive would be about two years in custody, with parole eligibility after 12 months.
However, in handing down his decision, and ultimately denying Mr Wood's bail application, Justice McCafferty pointed to Queensland's "new strangulation offence" which he said had a "significant penalty attached".
He told the court each charge Mr Wood is facing carries a maximum penalty of seven years in prison.
Meantime, earlier this week, the Queensland opposition introduced a private members bill seeking to establish an aggravated offence for strangulation cases, which would increase the maximum to 14 years, while non-strangulation cases would be seven years.
The hearing on Friday heard further details of the alleged domestic violence offence, including that Mr Wood told his wife and stepdaughter they "can both die".
It is alleged Mr Wood pushed his wife into a door, wall and floor, and strangled her to the point she could not breathe or yell for help.
Snezana Wood's daughter allegedly heard her mother gasping for air, as well as "striking and bumping" into walls, before dialling Triple Zero (000).
Mr Wood has previously denied the allegations.
Housed at high-security prison
Mr Wood is currently being housed at Wolston Correctional Centre, a high-security prison in Wacol in Brisbane's west.
He is there under a safety order, with alleged offenders with high profiles, or other reasons that could make them targets, often sent to the facility.
On Friday the court was told Mr Wood was born in Tasmania before moving to Victoria in 2000.
He spent 20 years running a fitness business before selling it and working for the company that acquired it, until earlier this month.
In his bail application on Friday, Mr Wood proposed he could be released to live at his father's property in Tasmania, with his siblings also nearby.
That was denied.
The legal options remaining for Mr Wood to further fight his bail application outcomes are limited.
The only way he could apply for bail again is if his lawyers can demonstrate there is a material change of circumstances.
He could also lodge an application to try and challenge Friday's decision in the Court of Appeal.
Business rebrand
The whole fitness program linked to Mr Wood has been rebranded in a flurry of new trademark registrations since mid-last week, following his arrest for alleged domestic violence offences.
The 28 by Sam Wood program was relaunched this week under the brand Evvr. "Welcome to our new chapter," the business said in an Instagram launch.
Previously known as 28 by Sam Wood program, companies linked to the business's ultimate owner, Victoria-based DBG Global Enterprises, only on October 21 filed the paperwork for the new brand Evvr, according to trademark register searches.
The new name was accepted on Thursday by IP Australia, for areas including conducting fitness classes, but it is yet to be officially registered.
DBG had cut commercial arrangements with Mr Wood in October, severing an arrangement started in 2022 in a $71 million deal for the former Bachelor.
