Michelle Bodzsar, accused of faking son’s cancer for cash, withdraws bid for bail
A mum who allegedly took $60,000 in donations after faking her son’s cancer has dropped her push for freedom.
Police & Courts
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The woman accused of shaving her son’s head and forcing him to use a wheelchair in an alleged $60,000 fake cancer scam has abandoned her bid for freedom and will remain in custody on remand.
On Friday, Michelle Bodzsar faced the Port Adelaide Magistrate Court by video link from the Adelaide Women’s Prison.
Since her arrest in December, Ms Bodzsar has been seeking release from custody, under home detention bail conditions, to her West Lakes rental property.
In court, Magistrate Alison Adair told Ms Bodzsar’s counsel that she had read a bail suitability report authored ahead of the hearing.
“Do you still wish to pursue your application?” she asked.
Ms Bodzsar’s counsel replied; “no, Your Honour, we withdraw our application.”
Ms Bodzsar and her husband, Ben Stephen Miller, have yet to plead to one count each of committing an act likely to cause harm.
The couple, both 44 of West Lakes, are further charged with one count each of deception.
Prosecutors allege that, between November 18 and December 12, the couple “engaged to represent” their child “had cancer”, and falsely raised $60,000 for purported treatment.
They further allege the pair shaved their young son’s head and eyebrows and placed him into a wheelchair with bandages on his head to imitate radiotherapy treatment for cancer.
Social media posts seeking donations said they would appreciate people not using “the term cancer around” the boy who “knows he has a sick eye that will get better”.
In December, Mr Miller was released on home detention bail and banned from contacting Ms Bodzsar or their children.
On Monday, Ms Bodzsar’s bail application was stymied when, the court heard, her mother was “unable to allow the address to be reviewed (by authorities) for home detention”.
On Friday, no further details were given in open court about the content of the bail inquiry report.
Ms Adair remanded Ms Bodzsar in custody to face the Adelaide Magistrates Court in March alongside her husband.
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