Fashion designer Wayne Cooper will contest a domestic violence charge stemming from allegations he assaulted his new wife.
The 61-year-old was arrested at a hotel in Sydney‘s east on Sunday night after police received a report of the alleged domestic violence incident.
The UK-born Cooper is accused of assaulting his wife Elizabeth Adams, who he married just over a year earlier, at the property on Campbell Parade at Bondi Beach.
Police prosecutor Robert Breckenridge objected to a request to dispense with Cooper’s bail conditions in court today, when the fashion designer did not appear for the case’s first date.
Existing conditions include that he not approach or be in the company of Adams within 12 hours of consuming drugs or alcohol, or commit further offences against her or anyone she had a relationship with.
Cooper has pleaded not guilty and remains on conditional bail with a hearing scheduled for May 19.
The alleged victim and the investigating officer are the two witnesses to the prosecution, while one witness is expected for the defence.
“It’s taken place in a room with only the complainant and the accused present,” Sergeant Breckenridge told the court.
Magistrate Miranda Moody asked how many witnesses there would be after appearing surprised at the estimate provided by Cooper’s lawyer for a hearing to take up to four hours for a single common assault charge.
Cooper’s lawyer said a substantial amount of cross-examination might take place, requesting a hearing later in 2025 due to anticipated delays in the production of material in the case.
The designer was excused from attending Waverley Local Court today after the magistrate was told he had returned to his home at Myocum, in the Byron hinterland on the NSW north coast.
Described in real estate listings as an unparalleled luxury coastal paradise, the three-level, five bedroom estate listed in court documents as Cooper’s residence sold for almost $3.9 million in 2023.
The sale came a few months after he was acquitted of historical accusations of assaulting his ex-wife, former model Sarah Marsh, due to inconsistencies in the evidence.
He was placed on a two-year good behaviour bond in 2008 after pleading guilty to a common assault against Marsh about two weeks after she had cancer surgery.
Cooper rose to fame in the 1990s with his fashion labels BRAVE and WAYNE, which sold in boutiques and Myer stores nationwide.
He has also been a repeat guest on reality TV show Australia’s Next Top Model.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
