Andrew O’Keefe had ‘chest pain’ in police video as cops called to alleged domestic violence incident

Footage played in court shows former TV star Andrew O’Keefe complaining of chest pain after police were called to his home over an alleged domestic violence incident.

The 51-year-old faced Sydney’s Downing Center Local Court on Monday, where he faces a hearing on charges of common assault, breaching an AVO and assault causing actual bodily harm related to an incident in 2021.

He is also fighting a charge of resisting a police officer.

Footage played during the hearing before Magistrate Alison Viney on Monday showed O’Keefe lying on the front steps of his apartment complex complaining of chest pain.

In the video, O’Keefe is heard moaning and complaining about having some ‘chest’.

“I’m not sure (what it is)…I’ve never felt it before,” he told police.

Footage showed police finding the complainant crying and holding her wrist, which was covered in scratches.

When police approached O’Keefe in the footage to ask questions, he was seen closing them.

“I will not comment without the presence of a lawyer … they are making claims against me that are false,” he told agent Elissa Major.

O’Keefe’s defense attorney, Richard Pontello SC, asked the older officer about a conversation in which the former TV star said the plaintiff allegedly “inflicted the abrasion on herself”.

‘Did he say, ‘I’m sure it was unintentional and was an unconscious or distracted physical reaction to stress,” Mr. Pontello asked.

The older agent replied: ‘Those words were not spoken.’

O’Keefe sneered and shook his head.

The hearing continues before Judge Viney.

The former Deal or No Deal host was charged in court Monday related to an allegation that he strangled a woman without her consent.

Earlier in the day, charges related to another matter involving the alleged intentional suffocation of a woman without her consent were dropped.

Police prosecutor Michael Cleaver told the court that the complainant was no longer in the country.

“They are not in the jurisdiction and our ability to bring the witness forward has been unsuccessful,” said Sgt. Cleaver.

The court was told that the woman returned to her home country.

O’Keefe still faces a separate hearing on unrelated charges of domestic violence, drug possession and resisting arrest.

The former host of the popular game show The Chase Australia was initially charged by police with grabbing a 38-year-old woman by the throat on January 25 last year.

Police alleged that he then pushed her to the ground and beat her. O’Keefe maintains that he acted in self-defense.

Supposedly, the couple previously met when the woman was a sex worker who O’Keefe had hired for her services before developing a friendship.

Police claimed they started arguing after he asked for a $20,000 debt and the woman asked for more money to jump-start a business she planned to start.

The former host of the popular game show The Chase Australia was initially charged by police with grabbing a 38-year-old woman by the throat on January 25 last year.

Sergeant Cleaver dropped six charges related to the incident, including two counts of intentionally strangling a person without consent, three counts of common battery and one count of battery causing actual bodily harm.

O’Keefe pleaded guilty to one count of violating an apprehended violence warrant.

O’Keefe spent nearly five months in custody on remand after he was charged with the crimes.

He was granted a hard bond by the NSW High Court in May 2022 to reside in a long-term residential halfway house in Port Stephens.

The former TV presenter has faced a different kind of attention since assault allegations came to light after a long career on Channel 7.

O’Keefe appeared as the face of many of the station’s shows, from Deal or No Deal to Weekend Sunrise.

She served on the National Council for the Prevention of Violence Against Women and founded the well-known organization White Ribbon Australia dedicated to the cause.

In 2017, he was made a Member of the Order of Australia for his charity work and television achievements.