Woodchipper murder: Alleged mastermind’s trial adjourned till October
The trial of a Queensland woman accused of organising the murder of an ex-partner found in a woodchipper has been adjourned until October.
Sharon Graham, 62, pleaded not guilty in Brisbane Supreme Court to the murder of Bruce James Saunders at a property near Gympie in November 2017.
Graham had been accused of plotting to kill 53-year-old Mr Saunders in order to inherit his house, car and more than $800,000 in superannuation and life insurance.
It was alleged Graham procured her new lover Gregory Lee Roser to carry out the murder of Mr Saunders before his body was partially fed into a woodchipper to create the appearance of an accidental death.
The jury had been told it was not in dispute that Mr Saunders had been “deliberately and unlawfully killed” by Roser under the guise of helping a widow clear trees on her land.
You might like
Mr Saunders had been helping clear the rural property in Goomboorian, north of Brisbane, with Roser and another man, Peter John Koenig, at the time.
Graham was about an hour’s drive away from the scene when the murder took place.
However, the court was told Graham engaged in the “counselling and procurement” of Roser to murder Mr Saunders.
Mr Koenig was the only person to see Roser hit Mr Saunders from behind with a metal pipe and then repeatedly strike the victim’s head before the body was fed into the chipper, the jury was told.
The trial before Justice Peter Callaghan was on Tuesday adjourned until October 9 with Graham remanded in custody.
