Wolf Blass winemaker’s son allegedly punched ex-partner, Gold Coast court hears
The son of iconic Australian winemaker Wolf Blass has been accused of repeatedly punching his former partner in the face and hurling her into a bedframe.
Crime and Court
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THE son of iconic Australian winemaker Wolf Blass has been accused of repeatedly punching his former partner in the face and hurling her into a bedframe.
Anton Blass, 34, of Surfers Paradise faces two charges of assault occasioning bodily harm.
The woman allegedly attacked on September 8 last year burst into tears as she waited to give evidence remotely over video during a trial in Southport Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Blass has pleaded not guilty to beating his partner in a Surfers Paradise apartment after he became suspicious she was cheating on him.
Barrister Angelo Vasta QC is defending the charges.
Prosecutor Brent Dixon said the case “rests on the version of the victim”, but two police officers would also appear as witnesses.
He told the court Blass and the woman had been in a long-term relationship in South Australia before Blass moved to the Gold Coast.
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Mr Dixon said the woman had been visiting Blass when he discovered a text message which he interpreted as a sign of infidelity.
Taking to the stand, the woman said she had “nothing to hide” when Blass found the message.
But she told the court Blass “lost it” and “jumped on top of me and punched me repeatedly in the face”.
When asked how many times she had been punched, the woman said there was “enough (punches) to give me two black eyes and bruising”.
The woman also told the court she and Blass had been wrestling over the phone later in the day when he “threw me and I hit the end of the bed.”
“I hit my head and I don’t know whether I passed out,” she said.
“I called an ambulance. There was blood gushing from my face.”
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Mr Vasta began his cross-examination of the woman, forcing her to reveal she had used methamphetamine at times in her life.
The lawyer asked if the woman had maintained contact with Blass after the alleged attacks and she said the pair had been talking.
Mr Vasta asked if the woman expressed her love to Blass after September, 2018, but she said she could not remember and had suffered some “memory loss”.
The hearing was brought to an abrupt halt when Magistrate Louise Shepherd spotted the woman interacting with her mother off-camera.
Despite Mr Vasta initially complaining the mother’s presence was “improper”, the woman was allowed to remain in the room.
The hearing continues.