Wayne Cooper’s estranged wife describes how he allegedly “attacked her while she was doing laundry at their house – the fashion designer throwing clothes in the pool”: “I was scared”
Wayne Cooper’s estranged wife describes how he allegedly “attacked her while she was doing laundry at their house – the fashion designer throwing clothes in the pool”: “I was scared”
- Designer fought two assault charges on Friday
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper’s estranged wife has told the court she was frightened when he allegedly assaulted her while she was doing laundry at their beachfront home.
Cooper pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault against his wife Sarah Marsh in 2015 and 2016 respectively at Waverley Local Court, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on Friday.
At a hearing, Ms Marsh, Cooper’s wife of 14 years, told the court she was doing laundry when Cooper allegedly threw the clothes into the pool, grabbed her by both arms and pushed her against a glass door in their house in Tamarama in December 2015 .
“I was afraid of what would happen next,” she said.
Fashion designer Wayne Cooper is accused of assaulting his ex-wife and former model Sarah Marsh. Above, he appears Friday before the Waverley Local Court in eastern Sydney
Ms Marsh testified in court via video link from a witness room, claiming she suffered bruises and scratches from the alleged washing incident.
Less than a year later, Cooper allegedly assaulted Mrs. Marsh during an argument in which he threw a toy bear at her in the former couple’s bedroom.
Ms Marsh said she started recording a video to scare Cooper off. That recording – presented in court – featured a bitter, expletive-ridden argument between the couple.
Cooper’s attorney, Hugh White, claimed the designer had to use “reasonable force” to keep the phone from contacting him.
Mrs Marsh claimed that her husband took his belongings from the room and she eventually installed a lock on the door.
“I had a lock on the room, so I could lock myself up,” she told the court. “That was my safe place.”
Wayne Cooper with his estranged wife Sarah Marsh
The charges come 18 months after Cooper furiously denied that he and Marsh had ended their 25-year relationship.
Cooper rose to fame in the 1990s with fashion labels Brave, Wayne Cooper and Wayne.
His clothes were once sold in two Melbourne boutiques and are now available at Myer’s department stores.
Cooper’s Australian Fashion Week shows have featured models including Linda Evangelista, Eva Herzigova and Sarah O’Hare (now Murdoch) and he was a regular on the reality TV series Australia’s Next Top Model.
Cooper and Marsh’s relationship has come to court before.
Cooper received a two-year good behavior bond in December 2008 after pleading guilty to assaulting Marsh just days after she had cancer surgery.
The hearing continues.