Sean Buckley committal hearing: Court played recording where he is called an ‘evil monster’

A secret recording has revealed the moment car repair magnate Sean Buckley allegedly assaulted his bikini model girlfriend Jennifer Cruz Cole at Crown Towers.

Jennifer Cruz Cole at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Tuesday. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Shocking audio of Ultra Tune boss Sean Buckley allegedly assaulting his model ex-girlfriend in a hotel room, while she begs the “evil monster” to stop, has been aired in court.

Mr Buckley, 62, is facing a committal hearing at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court, having pleaded not guilty to charges including stalking, assault and recklessly causing injury.

Jennifer Cruz Cole, a bikini model, on Tuesday gave evidence in the witness box about the alleged assault at Crown Towers in Melbourne on January 18, 2020.

Ms Cole, who was in a relationship with the car repair magnate at the time, told the court she was sitting on the bed eating M&M’s while Mr Buckley was both speaking to her and talking to someone on the phone.

Jennifer Cruz Cole and Sean Buckley.

She said she began to secretly record their conversation after becoming fearful.

The 20-minute recording was played to the court in which Mr Buckley can be heard accusing Ms Cole of interfering in a dispute which he says could send him to jail.

“Stop nagging me,” he can be heard yelling. “I want you to go home.”

Minutes later, Mr Buckley said: “I’m going to hit you. I’m going to really hurt you. I’m in a bad mood.”

Mr Buckley has pleaded not guilty to charges including stalking, assault and recklessly causing injury.

The pair continue to talk about Mr Buckley’s dispute before he discovered she was secretly recording their conversation on her phone.

He tells Ms Cole “you’re not getting your phone back”, with the model claiming he threw it in a sink and turned on the tap.

Ms Cole can be heard calling Mr Buckley a “monster” and shouting: “You’re f---ing going to kill me.”

Thumps, which Ms Cole alleges are sounds made by Mr Buckley punching her in the face about 10 times, can be heard while Ms Cole screeches “stop it” and begins to cry.

In the audio, Jennifer Cruz Cole can be heard ‘you’re f---ing going to kill me’.

The sound of the tap running has also been picked up by the phone.

Ms Cole told the court she left the hotel room with her suitcase and phone, which did not suffer water damage, after the alleged assault.

Mr Buckley’s barrister Remy van de Wiel said doctors who examined Ms Cole’s face on January 24 “found not a trace of bruising”.

But Ms Cole said she did not agree with that statement and said she had “internal bruising”.

Details of Mr Buckley and Ms Cole’s tumultuous relationship, which began in 2017, was also aired in court on Monday.

“You get punished when you don’t listen to Sean,” she said.

Ms Cole said she had ‘internal bruising’ after the incident.

Mr Buckley is also accused of hiring two men to follow Ms Cole and renting the Melbourne apartment next door to her where cameras were installed to keep her under surveillance.

Co-accused Wade D’Andrea, 40, who is also facing the same committal hearing, is one of the men allegedly hired by Mr Buckley to stalk Ms Cole.

Magistrate Andrew McKenna will determine at the conclusion of the hearing whether there is sufficient evidence to commit the two men to stand trial.

Mr Buckley is also suing Ms Cole and his ex-worker Anthony Swords over the dissemination of the recording of the alleged assault.

He had sought orders asking the court for a “full and complete list” of everyone who was sent any recordings made by Ms Cole of his conversations.

But Associate Justice Melissa Daly in December last year rejected the bid, calling it an “impermissible fishing expedition”.

Despite her judgment, the civil case has been delayed until the criminal proceedings have concluded.

Ms Cole was in 2021 restrained from disseminating any recordings after she was slapped with an interim court order.

The committal hearing continues.