When Bruce Saunders was found in a wood chipper, only his legs were left.
But Saunders was dead before his body was fed into the machine after he unknowingly became involved in a “love square,” the Brisbane Supreme Court has been told.
Gregory Lee Roser, 63, and Sharon Graham, 61, are on trial after being charged with the murder of the ‘benign’ Mr Saunders.
Bruce Saunders (pictured), 54, was allegedly murdered and fed by a wood chipper with only his legs left, in a rural area, north of Brisbane in 2017
Gregory Lee Roser (center), 63, and Sharon Graham (right), 61, are on trial after being charged with the murder of ‘good-natured’ Mr Saunders. Peter Koenig (left) pleaded guilty to complicity in June 2022 murder, jury was told
Police initially believed Mr Saunders, 54, was killed in an industrial accident while clearing a friend’s mansion near Gympie north of Brisbane in November 2017.
When emergency services responded to a call, they found Mr Saunders in the wood chipper on the Goomboorian site.
“All that was left of the body was the legs from about just above the knees,” Crown Prosecutor David Meredith told the jury on Monday.
“It’s not the prosecution’s business that he was killed by… the shredder. He was murdered and put in the shredder to hide it was murder.’
Police initially believed Mr Saunders, 54, was killed in an industrial accident while clearing a friend’s mansion near Gympie, north of Brisbane in November 2017.)
Roser and Graham had been planning Saunders’ murder for six months, the prosecutor said.
He said Graham was in a de facto relationship with Mr Saunders after they met online and bought a house together.
But Saunders was “worth a lot more dead than alive,” he said.
He had made a will and a life insurance policy in favor of Graham that originally cost $500,000 but was increased to $750,000 a week before his death, the court heard.
Meredith said the court was expected to hear a police recording of Graham calling the insurance company days after Mr Saunders’ death to inquire about collecting insurance, telling them the police had decided it was an industrial accident. used to be.
Roser and Graham (pictured) had been planning to kill Saunders for six months, the prosecutor said
“The prosecution says Sharon Graham had a strong motive for wanting Bruce Saunders dead,” Meredith said.
Graham had asked Roser to help kill Saunders in a plan that evolved over time, the prosecutor said.
First they wanted Roser to break into Mr. Saunders’ Nambour house and kill him.
Another plan was for Roser to shoot Mr. Saunders in his workplace.
In the end, they decided to kill him and make it look like an accident, bringing in another man, Peter Koenig.
Koenig pleaded guilty to complicity after committing murder in June 2022, the jury was told.
He is expected to testify at the four-week trial and says Graham asked him and Roser to kill Saunders, Meredith said.
The prosecutor said Roser was ultimately the one who killed Mr Saunders (pictured) by hitting his head with an iron bar before feeding the body into the shredder
He said Roser was ultimately the one who killed Mr Saunders by hitting his head with an iron bar before feeding the body into the shredder.
Graham lived with Mr Saunders but was in a relationship with Roser at the time and may also have had “intimate relationships” with Koenig.
“This is a love square because Peter Koenig, Greg Roser and Bruce Saunders were all in love, it looks like Sharon Graham at least at one point,” said Meredith.