Fresh details surface about hundreds of horrific texts cricket commentator Michael Slater allegedly sent woman
Disgraced former Australian cricket great Michael Slater bombarded a woman with up to 300 abusive text messages calling her a ‘c**t’ and ‘s**t’ in a horrific DV-related tirade, police allege.
New allegations against the former Test cricketer and commentator have been detailed in court documents after Mr Slater collapsed during a court appearance on Tuesday.
The 54-year-old unsuccessfully applied for bail at the Maroochydore Magistrates Court after his arrest last weekend.
He is facing multiple domestic violence-related offenses that allegedly occurred between December last year and last week.
Mr Slater, dressed in prison greens, put his head in his hands when he heard his bail had been rejected.
He then collapsed as he was led back to the cells by Corrective Services staff.
Former Australian cricketer Michael Slater (pictured leaving court in May last year) is facing 19 charges after being arrested last weekend
The former commentator has been denied bail following a series of alleged domestic abuse incidents
Mr Slater’s charges include entering the home with intent by breaking at night, suffocation, assault occasioning bodily harm, stalking and breaching bail.
They are all said to have taken place between December 5, 2023 and April 12 of this year.
Police allege in court documents that Mr Slater sent the woman more than 300 messages during these dates.
About 203 were allegedly sent from the afternoon of March 10 to the morning of March 11, calling her a ‘c**’, ‘escort’, ‘liar’ and ‘sl*t’ several times during the tirade, and making threats to take his own life.
Others at different dates include statements such as: ‘Okay, I’ll come to you’; ‘You’re going to hurt me, aren’t you’ and ‘What have you done’.
On April 10, another 100 text messages were sent, starting at 8:44 a.m. and ending at 8:37 p.m., police allege in the documents.
Police further allege in the documents that on March 17, Mr Slater accessed the woman’s CCTV camera on the veranda of her home and turned it around to face her home.
This is said to have happened while the woman was making a statement to officers at Noosa police station.
They were alerted via an app on her phone and saw Mr Slater peering into the house.
Police allege Slater sent more than 300 text messages to the woman, calling her a ‘c**’, ‘escort’, ‘liar’ and ‘sl*t’ – in addition to breaking into her home
Legal aid lawyer Michael Robinson told the court on Tuesday that his client planned to stay in a drug rehabilitation facility in Sydney if he was released from custody.
The Maroochydore Magistrates Court was told that Mr Slater denied all allegations of violence against the complainant.
In a letter to the court, Mr Slater’s doctor outlined the 54-year-old’s mental health problems and said he was acting in an ‘impulsive, reckless and unusual manner’.
Mr Robinson said the Sydney clinic had confirmed Mr Slater would visit last week.
“There is documentary evidence before the court that shows he will be outside the jurisdiction of the court, in a mental institution, and will actually do something to address the (alleged) behavior,” Mr Robinson said.
Bail was opposed by police, who claimed Mr Slater posed an unacceptable risk of committing further offenses if granted.
The court was told that CCTV captured footage of the former cricket great allegedly breaking into the complainant’s home last week.
Slater also allegedly assaulted the woman by punching her and grabbing her arm tightly
It is claimed Mr Slater repeatedly shouted ‘f**k you’ and ‘where is your daughter’ before storming into the house.
The former cricket star then allegedly attacked her by grabbing her arm tightly.
“She is repeatedly begging him to stop, she is undressing, cowering and clearly in fear for her safety,” Sergeant Newman told the court on Tuesday.
“We say the strength of the evidence is good.”
Mr Slater’s charge of choking and assault occasioning actual bodily harm related to allegations he punched the woman at his Noosa Heads home after she attended concerns for his welfare.
Police allege Mr Slater then strangled her in the laundry when she tried to get away.
It is further alleged that he threatened to kill her while handling an empty vodka bottle.
The bail breach means Mr Slater returned a BAC of 0.119 per cent when he was arrested, despite bail conditions requiring him to remain below 0.05 per cent.
Slater was remanded in custody and his case was due to be heard at the same court on May 31
Sergeant Newman said the court could find ‘no comfort’ in Mr Slater’s proposed bail conditions, citing comments from his treating doctor.
He said Mr Slater had a relevant criminal history in NSW and Queensland.
Bail was ultimately refused by Magistrate Raelene Ellis.
“Some of these crimes were committed within 24 hours of the first court appearance, while others took hours,” she said.
Mr Slater scored 5,312 runs and played 74 Test matches and 42 one-day internationals for Australia during his cricket career between 1993 and 2001.
After his retirement he switched to commentary on channels 7 and 9.