Latest / Real Crime with Adam Shand / From the Desk: Snezana’s Missing Ring

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From the Desk: Snezana’s Missing Ring · Real Crime with Adam Shand

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: A Poche Production. Welcome to Real Crime with Adam Shand.
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: I'm your host, Adam Shand. And this is my Friday
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: feature from the desk. The most revealing detail in yesterday's
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  Speaker 1: newspaper story about Sam Wood was something missing from a photograph.
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  Speaker 1: In this case, a wedding ring that used to be
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  Speaker 1: on the finger of his wife, Snezana. There's a long
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  Speaker 1: tradition in tabloid journalism of the first public appearance after
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  Speaker 1: a scandal. The picture everyone wants, the public appearance that
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: becomes a statement, whether the person being photographed intended it
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  Speaker 1: that way or not. Yesterday, it was Snezana Wood. The
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  Speaker 1: Daily Mail published a picture of her out in public
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  Speaker 1: for the first time since the arrest of the former
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  Speaker 1: Bachelor star and fitness guru. He was locked up on
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  Speaker 1: October 3rd and remained in custody at the time of writing.
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  Speaker 1: The report also drew attention to her wedding finger without
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  Speaker 1: a ring. It was also reported that Stanzana recently marked
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  Speaker 1: her 46th birthday with a small gathering of friends at home.
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  Speaker 1: To an old journo like me, that combination speaks loudly
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  Speaker 1: and strategically. Family, friends, a public appearance, but no wedding rings.
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  Speaker 1: This looks like a declaration of independence. That was my
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  Speaker 1: first thought. I don't know for sure whether this appearance
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  Speaker 1: was arranged. I don't know who supplied the photograph or
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  Speaker 1: whether Snezana intended to communicate anything about her marriage. But
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  Speaker 1: I have seen this before. And a missing ring doesn't
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  Speaker 1: tell us what someone has decided to do about the
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  Speaker 1: rest of their life. There are limits on the interpretations.
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  Speaker 1: but they don't stop us examining how the image works.
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  Speaker 1: Because once a picture like this reaches a newspaper, it
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  Speaker 1: acquires a meaning beyond the ordinary moments it records. Celebrities
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  Speaker 1: have managers who are past masters of these dark arts.
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  Speaker 1: They can't provide a quote while a prosecution is underway,
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  Speaker 1: but there are other ways to send a message. Readers
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: look at the hand. They read the headline. They connect
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  Speaker 1: the photograph with the allegations. And a woman going about
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  Speaker 1: her day becomes the subject of a national conversation about
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  Speaker 1: whether a marriage is over and whether she'll give evidence
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  Speaker 1: against her husband. That's the power of tabloid storytelling, even
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  Speaker 1: as the mainstream media declines in importance. Sam Wood faces
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  Speaker 1: charges of assault, occasioning bodily harm and strangulation in a
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  Speaker 1: domestic setting, arising from an alleged incident in Noosa on
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  Speaker 1: October 3rd. He denies the allegations and intends to contest them.
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  Speaker 1: He's been refused bail and those charges remain unproven. His
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  Speaker 1: wife's public appearance cannot establish his guilt. Neither can the
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  Speaker 1: collapse of a celebrity reputation. The evidence has to do
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: that work. But there is a reported detail that carries
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  Speaker 1: much more weight than the wedding ring. Police have told
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  Speaker 1: the court Snezana supports the prosecution proceeding. That matters because
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: domestic violence cases are often discussed as though the person
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  Speaker 1: reporting the alleged violence has sole responsibility for deciding what
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  Speaker 1: happens next. We hear it all the time. Will she
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  Speaker 1: press charges? Will she drop them? Will she stand by him?
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  Speaker 1: That language places an enormous burden on the person who
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  Speaker 1: says they've been harmed. In a criminal prosecution, decisions about
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: pursuing or withdrawing charges belong solely to the prosecuting authorities.
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  Speaker 1: The complainant's wishes matter, but they do not amount to
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  Speaker 1: a personal switch that turns a criminal case on or off.
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  Speaker 1: There is a substantial public interest here. The community has
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  Speaker 1: an interest in allegations of violence being properly investigated, in
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  Speaker 1: people being protected, and in an accused person receiving a
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  Speaker 1: fair hearing. And alleged strangling is a matter of significant
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  Speaker 1: public interest because so many women have suffered it. Those
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  Speaker 1: responsibilities exist even when a relationship is complicated, even when
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  Speaker 1: there are children, shared property, financial commitments and years of
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  Speaker 1: emotional attachment. And that brings me to Eve. Snezana's adult
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  Speaker 1: daughter reportedly witnessed the alleged incident and called Triple O.
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  Speaker 1: Think about the position that puts a young woman in.
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  Speaker 1: Her mother, her stepfather, the police, now the national media.
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  Speaker 1: We should be careful about making predictions about what she'll
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  Speaker 1: have to do or suggesting the entire prosecution could fall
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  Speaker 1: on her shoulders. We haven't seen the full brief of evidence.
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  Speaker 1: More fundamentally, a daughter should not make to be feel
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  Speaker 1: that the safety of her mother or the outcome of
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  Speaker 1: a criminal prosecution is hers alone to carry. But if
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  Speaker 1: her mother declines to give evidence, then police will turn
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  Speaker 1: to Eve as the witness to push ahead with the prosecution.
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  Speaker 1: Calling Triple O for help is already a significant act
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  Speaker 1: and will be an important element of the prosecution's case.
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  Speaker 1: Now I expect attention will turn to whether Wood makes
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  Speaker 1: a further bail application. Queensland Supreme Court can hear a
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  Speaker 1: bail application after bail has been refused in the magistrate's court.
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  Speaker 1: that avenue still exists. Whether his lawyers pursue it and
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  Speaker 1: on what basis remains to be seen, but I suspect
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  Speaker 1: they will. An unsuccessful application doesn't by itself prove the
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  Speaker 1: lawyers were incompetent. Sometimes the client's circumstances and the prosecution's
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  Speaker 1: case present substantial obstacles. But I do question any approach
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  Speaker 1: that gives an accused celebrity's damaged career too much prominence.
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  Speaker 1: At a bail hearing... The court has serious decisions to
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  Speaker 1: make about risk, attendance and the conditions under which someone
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  Speaker 1: might be released. A public relations recovery cannot be the
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  Speaker 1: organising principle. And if there is a fresh application, it
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  Speaker 1: raises another familiar issue, access to legal resources. I'm not
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  Speaker 1: putting a $ 50, 000 price tag on an application without a
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  Speaker 1: verified basis for that figure. But getting out of his
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  Speaker 1: max security jail cell is a high priority and that
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  Speaker 1: won't come cheap. In our system you get as much
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  Speaker 1: justice as you can afford. Wealth makes a big difference
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  Speaker 1: to someone's ability to assemble legal advice, expert material, accommodation
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  Speaker 1: proposals and a carefully prepared bail application. Everyone is entitled
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  Speaker 1: to competent representation. The concern is how effectively that entitlement
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  Speaker 1: works for people with very different resources. Some people call
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  Speaker 1: the process a legal system rather than a justice system
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  Speaker 1: for good reasons. Meanwhile, Snezana is being watched for further clues.
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  Speaker 1: A ring, a coat, an outing, a birthday gathering, every
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  Speaker 1: detail risks becoming a talking point on what she could
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  Speaker 1: do next or will do next. But once you've built
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  Speaker 1: a life and fortune from celebrity, it's hard to turn
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  Speaker 1: off the interest in your life. My reading of that
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  Speaker 1: photograph is that it may mark a change in how
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  Speaker 1: she wishes to be seen publicly. Perhaps a first step
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  Speaker 1: towards a separate identity. As I say, a declaration of independence.
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  Speaker 1: And that she will give evidence. But that is just
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  Speaker 1: my interpretation. She hasn't handed me a statement that confirms it.
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  Speaker 1: And she owes the public no performance of either loyalty
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  Speaker 1: or separation. She can spend time with friends. Take a
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  Speaker 1: child out, wear her ring or leave it off. None
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  Speaker 1: of those choices should determine whether people take her account seriously.
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  Speaker 1: So yes, the missing ring caught my attention. The journalist
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  Speaker 1: in me sees the possibility of a message. But the
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  Speaker 1: crime reporter in me knows the more consequential story is
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  Speaker 1: unfolding elsewhere. In the evidence, in the prosecution's decisions and
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  Speaker 1: in the support available to the people involved. The courts
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  Speaker 1: will determine what the evidence establishes about the alleged offences.
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  Speaker 1: Until then, keep watching the media for those tells that
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  Speaker 1: don't always need words to make their point. I'm Adam
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: Shan for Real Crime From The Desk. If you want
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: to join the conversation on this case, please follow me
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: and subscribe on Facebook for more independent crime journalism. Thanks
• 9:32
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• 9:57
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