Sam Wood is moved to Queensland’s most feared prison: ‘Pretty boy’ Bachelor’s brutal new reality with ‘the worst of the worst’

By STEPHEN GIBBS, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA and KYLIE STEVENS, SENIOR BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA

Published: 21:37 EDT, 12 October 2026 | Updated: 21:37 EDT, 12 October 2026

Former Bachelor star Sam Wood has been moved to a new prison which houses some of the most reviled and infamous killers, rapists and paedophiles in Australia.

The 46-year-old multimillionaire fitness trainer and one-time star of The Bachelor was transferred from Brisbane Correctional Centre to nearby Wolston Correctional Centre in the past 24 hours.

Wolston is a high-security facility which accommodates male protection prisoners who cannot be kept in the general prison population because their crimes or profiles make them particularly vulnerable.

Among its current residents are schoolboy Daniel Morcombe’s killer Brett Peter Cowan, and Gerard Baden-Clay, the Brisbane real estate agent jailed for the premeditated murder of his wife.

Another of Wood’s new neighbours is former childcare worker Ashley Griffith, who is serving a minimum of 27 years in jail for more than 300 sex crimes against children, most of them girls aged between three and five.

Wood has been behind bars since October 3 when he was arrested at Noosa on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast over domestic violence allegations involving his wife Snezana.

He is accused of strangling Snezana, 45, in the family’s $3,000-a-night La Mer holiday apartment on Hastings Street as well as assault occasioning bodily harm.

Police allege the attack was so severe that Snezana, the mother of Wood’s three daughters, feared she was going to die.

Sam Wood has been moved to a protection prison which houses some of the most reviled and infamous killers, rapists and paedophiles in Australia. Wood is pictured with wife Snezana

The 46-year-old multimillionaire fitness trainer and one-time star of The Bachelor was transferred from Brisbane Correctional Centre to nearby Wolston Correctional Centre (above)

Wood spent his first five nights in custody at the Maroochydore watchhouse before a bail appearance at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on October 8.

After Acting Magistrate Janelle Boegheim rejected Wood’s bid for freedom, he was driven the 121km from the watchhouse to Brisbane Correctional Centre that night.

Located in Wacol, in Brisbane’s south-west, the prison is the main facility for male inmates recently remanded in custody in south-east Queensland.

Forensic psychologist Tim Watson-Munro has previously told the Daily Mail that Wood would have a target on his back in jail.

‘In general principle, anyone who has a profile becomes a potential target in prison,’ he said.

‘If they’re perceived to be people of wealth, which he is, there may be a standover for money, or they may want money for protection.

‘There’s also prisoners who make targets out of celebrities due to the kudos attached to beating up a celebrity.’

Mr Watson-Munro said prisons assess the risks facing high-profile inmates on a case-by-case basis, with some placed in protective custody for their own safety.

‘Depending on the level of threat and risk analysis, they may put him in protection for a while,’ he said.

‘The intel on these things is pretty good, so if they get word that he is a target either for standover or be beaten up, they may suggest he goes into protection.’

Mr Watson-Munro warned that giving Wood special treatment could put him in even greater danger.

Wood was refused bail on October 8 at Maroochydore Magistrates Court. His solicitor Mathew Cuskelly and father Andrew Wood are pictured outside court

Wolston (above) is a high-security facility which accommodates male protection prisoners who cannot be kept in general population because their crimes or profiles make them particularly vulnerable

‘It would just aggravate the problem he would have with other prisoners as they don’t like that type of thing,’ he said.

It is not known if Wood was moved to Wolston following a direct threat or if authorities simply determined he would be safer in that prison.

When asked about Wood’s location, a Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman told the Daily Mail the department did not comment on the individual management or movement of inmates.

Wolston Correctional Centre, adjacent to Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre, operates under a strict work regime, according to the Queensland Corrective Services website.

‘The centre takes an integrated approach to the delivery of services to prisoners through a structured day timetable, which enables half of the prisoners employed in industries to work in the morning and the other half in the afternoon,’ it states.

‘Metal fabrication, paint and powder coating, textiles and assembly workshops are the major industrial workshops at Wolston Correctional Centre.

‘Industries operate seven days a week, 12 hours a day. This allows workers to attend programs, education, vocational training and to use other prisoner services during the part of the day they are not required for work.

‘The centre delivers a broad range of intervention and general offending programs and delivers a range of sexual offending treatment programs.’

Schoolboy Daniel Morcombe’s killer Brett Peter Cowan (above) is one of Wood’s fellow inmates at Wolston Correctional Centre

Another of Wood’s new neighbours is former childcare worker Ashley Griffith (above), who is serving a minimum 27 years for more than 300 sex crimes against children

Despite the best efforts to keep prisoners safe from one another, the most despised offenders within Wolston’s walls are not immune from jailhouse justice.

In October 2023, both Ashley Griffith and Brett Cowan were attacked in Wolston’s sectioned-off S3 by the same inmate on the same day.

The inmate threw a scalding cocktail of jam and boiling water – a mixture known as ‘jail napalm’ – over Griffith then began laying punches into serial child rapist Cowan.

Cowan has been repeatedly assaulted since March 2014 when he was jailed for life with a minimum 20-year term for the December 2003 abduction and murder of 13-year-old Morcombe.

In 2016, Adam Paul Davidson sneaked up behind Cowan while he was playing cards at Wolston and poured boiling water over his head.

It was reported in 2017 that Gerard Baden-Clay, who killed his wife Alison in their Brisbane home in April 2012, was paying Wolston prisoners to protect him.

Other inmates at Wolston include Innisfail nurse Rajwinder Singh, who was convicted last December of murdering 24-year-old Toyah Cordingley near Cairns in October 2018.

Nilisi Kaniki, who was jailed last May for the bashing manslaughter of his pregnant partner Selma Ibrahim at Crestmead, south of Brisbane, in September 2019, is also there.

It was reported in 2017 that Gerard Baden-Clay (left), who killed his wife Alison (right) in their Brisbane home in April 2012, was paying Wolston prisoners to protect him

Triple murderer Massimo ‘Max’ Sica, who killed his former girlfriend Neelma Singh and her siblings Kunal and Sidhi in April 2003, is another Wolston prisoner.

Until his arrest, Wood was living with his family in a $7.15million mansion in Melbourne’s bayside suburb of Brighton.

His solicitor Mathew Cuskelly has indicated Wood would fight the domestic violence charges and apply again for bail in the Supreme Court in coming weeks.

When Wood faced court over the Noosa allegations last Thursday, police prosecutor Sergeant Jeanette Grigoris said he had previously choked Snezana in a similar incident.

Sergeant Grigoris said Wood had not been charged over that alleged attack, but told the court his behaviour had been ‘escalating’.

It is alleged a row broke out in Noosa ahead of the couple returning to Melbourne, and Snezana was pushed into a wardrobe before her 21-year-old daughter Eve intervened.

The court heard Eve told Wood to stop shouting, prompting him to approach her ‘aggressively’ before Snezana tried to get between them.

Wood is then alleged to have put his hands around Snezana’s throat and forced her to the floor, where he pinned her down and banged her head, leaving her unable to breathe.

A Queensland Corrective Services spokesman told the Daily Mail the department did not comment on the individual management of prisoners. Wolston is pictured

She told police she thought ‘this was it… her life was going to end’. She said she thought Wood was ‘going to kill her’, the court heard.

Snezana had also told police Wood was ‘volatile and prone to angry outbursts’, and said she had to ‘walk on eggshells around him’.

Sergeant Grigoris said Wood had made ‘partial admissions’ in a record of interview, including referring to an argument in the bedroom.

‘He’s essentially victim-blaming in my submission,’ she told the court.

Mr Cuskelly said his client suffered from severe depression and might rely on self-defence if the case went to trial.

He told the court Wood’s stepdaughter Eve was being hostile, Snezana approached Wood, and he pushed her away.

‘My client may indeed be entitled to self-defence argument,’ Mr Cuskelly said. ‘These are matters that need to be further explored.’

While a paramedic had made a statement there was an injury to the left side of Snezana’s head, Mr Cuskelly said two tendered photographs did not show that injury.

The lawyer added: ‘He repeatedly denied that this had occurred. Where’s the injuries to her throat? They’re not there.

‘My client denies committing these offences.

‘He’s never been before the courts before. He’s a businessman [and] Mr Wood’s depression is regarded as extremely severe.’

Wood founded fitness and training business 28 by Sam Wood, which he sold for $71million to DBG Health in 2022 while remaining the face of the online platform under its new owner.

DBG Health quickly distanced itself from Wood on Monday, stating it had ‘zero tolerance’ for domestic violence. On Tuesday, the company cut all ties with Wood.

Wood’s case will return to court on November 23.

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