Uni student charged over Balmain supermarket teen stabbing granted bail
A Sydney university student accused of helping her boyfriend after he allegedly tried to stab a teenage boy to death has won a bid for bail.
NSW
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A SYDNEY university student accused of helping her boyfriend after he allegedly tried to stab a teenage boy to death has won a bid for bail.
Weightlifter Cassandra Ross and her personal trainer partner Jeremy Allen were arrested at a Balmain home on Saturday after the 16-year-old was attacked at a nearby supermarket, police said.
Allen, 29, allegedly asked the teen for a lighter before stabbing him in the hand and stomach at the local Woolworths carpark on Thursday night, leaving him critically injured.
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Ross was charged with concealing a serious indictable offence but was today granted bail at Central Local Court.
The 23-year-old, who appeared via audio visual link from Silverwater prison, was supported in court by her mother, who fronted a $5000 bail surety.
The teen had been leaving Woolworths with a 14-year-old when the stabbing occurred, and the Balmain couple was spotted on CCTV footage in the vicinity a short time later, police prosecutor Sergeant Vanessa Robichaux said.
The child underwent surgery at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after suffering a punctured artery in his abdomen and a laceration to his liver.
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Allen, who is charged with causing grievous bodily harm with intent to murder, reckless grievous bodily harm and reckless wounding, is pleading self-defence.
But prosecutors have alleged he fled the scene, disposed of the knife and changed his appearance after the attack.
Sergeant Robichaux opposed Ross’s bail application, saying she helped Allen get rid of evidence and later made numerous internet searches about the wounding on her mobile phone.
“At no time did the defendant take any effort to deliver aid to the victim,” she said.
“It’s a very strong prosecution case and if convicted there’s a likelihood of a custodial sentence.”
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Sergeant Robichaux added that Ross presented an unacceptable risk of committing a serious offence, failing to appear at future court dates and interfering with witnesses.
But despite acknowledging these “serious concerns”, the judge granted bail, ordering Ross to surrender her passport and move into her father’s Maitland home in the Hunter Valley where she would report to police twice weekly.
Ross, who is studying a masters of business administration at the University of Technology, Sydney has no prior convictions, her legal aid lawyer Emily Muir said.
She had been working full time in recruiting but has been put on unpaid leave since being locked up and is now banned from entering Balmain or contacting her boyfriend and witnesses.
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Allen, who the court previously heard has a significant criminal history and is bipolar, was refused bail on Saturday and will remain behind bars until his next court appearance on September 11.
Ross’s matter will return to Downing Centre Local Court on July 31.