LATAM Airlines Australasian boss Christopher Ellis hit with domestic violence charges

LATAM Airlines’ Aussie executive Christopher Ellis has pleaded not guilty to four domestic violence charges following his arrest at his family’s Annandale home in December last year.

Christopher Ellis, the Oceanic country manager for LATAM Airlines, is facing domestic violence charges amid allegations he threatened his estranged wife with a pair and scissors and twice threw her to the ground during the breakdown of their 20-year marriage. Picture: LinkedIn

The Australian boss of a major international airline has been hit with domestic violence charges amid allegations he threatened his wife with a pair of scissors during the breakdown of their marriage.

Christopher Ellis, the Oceanic country manager of Chile-based LATAM Airlines - the largest airline company in Latin America - is facing charges of assault, intimidation and being armed with intent to commit an indictable offence following his arrest at the family’s Annandale home in December last year.

According to documents tendered to the NSW Supreme Court, police will allege the 20-year relationship between Ellis and his wife began to disintegrate about a year ago and they repeatedly spoke of separating.

The court heard the couple were arguing on the morning of April 2 last year when Ellis allegedly picked up a pair of scissors and “held it above his shoulder as if he intended to use it to stab”, leaving the woman in fear for her safety.

When interviewed by police, Ellis allegedly claimed there was no threat to his wife and he’d simply been moving the scissors from the dishwasher to the kitchen drawer. Picture: LinkedIn

However, when interviewed by police, Ellis allegedly claimed there was no threat and he’d simply been moving the scissors from the dishwasher to the kitchen drawer to put them away.

The court heard as their relationship continued to sour, Ellis asked his estranged wife to move out of the Annandale property, which he and his sister had inherited from their deceased father.

Ellis’ wife allegedly told police she had “very limited access [to] and control of money” during their relationship, prompting her to recently get a job so she could finance the move.

She said she got home late from a work party on December 7 and, anticipating Ellis would confront her when they were next alone - she began a secret audio recording on her phone the following afternoon.

The recording picked up the pair arguing in Spanish, with Ellis allegedly accusing his estranged wife of having an affair.

It is alleged Ellis grabbed her twice and “flung” her to the floor in a bid to prevent her from leaving the home.

The woman allegedly told police Ellis covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her screams before she was eventually able to flee the property.

The woman made a report to police that night, saying she was fearful the alleged attacks might “escalate”.

Ellis was arrested in the early hours of December 8.

He denied throwing his wife to the floor, but allegedly told police he had held her in a “bear hug” so she couldn’t leave while they were arguing.

Ellis was bailed on the charges but prohibited from returning to the family home, with the court told he is currently living down the road in an elderly neighbour’s spare room.

The airline executive also had his passport confiscated and was banned from international travel as part of his bail restrictions, forcing him to miss two important overseas work meetings.

Ellis allegedly told police he had held his wife in a “bear hug” so she couldn’t leave while they were arguing. Picture: LinkedIn

The court heard he initially kept his legal predicament from his employer, earning him a ‘please explain’ from his direct boss when he failed to show at the meetings.

“Having been asked the direct question by my manager, I had to confide in him that my passport was being held by NSW Police due to the matters before the court,” Ellis wrote in an affidavit tendered to the Supreme Court last month in support of an application to lift his travel ban.

Ellis claimed he was the “face” of LATAM Airlines in the region and had “essential” upcoming meetings in Chile, New Zealand, Los Angeles and Indonesia that he had to attend or he would lose his job.

He said he had grown up in Sydney, attending The Scots College in primary school before completing high school and university in Uruguay, then returning to Australia to live in 2007.

“My work, my property, my life is all in Australia,” he wrote.

“I will not leave the country permanently - I have too much to lose.”

Ellis said in his affidavit that he intended to fight the allegations at a scheduled hearing in September but was willing to plead guilty to a single charge of common assault - relating to the bear hug - if police dropped the remaining charges.

Justice Andrew Coleman agreed to lift Ellis’ travel ban and ordered police return the 43-year-old’s passport so he could fly overseas.

As part of the revised bail, Ellis is required to provide police with a copy of his itinerary and return ticket details within five days of his departure and must report to his closest police station within 24 hours of returning to Australia.