A man accused of killing his girlfriend's ex-partner, whose body was partially shredded in a woodchipper near Gympie, has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of murder.
The following story contains graphic descriptions that some readers may find disturbing.
Bruce Saunders died while clearing trees with two men, Gregory Roser and Peter Koenig, at a friend's property in Goomboorian in November 2017.
His death was initially deemed an industrial accident, but several months later Roser was charged with his murder.
The 63-year-old faced a month-long trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane, where he pleaded not guilty.
After hearing evidence from dozens of witnesses and spending more than a day deliberating, on Friday a jury convicted Roser.
During the proceedings it was alleged Roser killed the 54-year-old at the request of his then-partner, Sharon Graham, who was also Mr Saunders' former partner.
Ms Graham, who was allegedly set to financially benefit from the killing, is also charged with his murder and will face a separate trial.
The court was told there had allegedly been several variations to the murder plot concocted over a number of months, which included Ms Graham asking Roser to shoot Mr Saunders in his home, or while he was driving to work.
Eventually, it was alleged, Ms Graham told Roser and Koenig they should use the machine to "make it look like an accident", the court was told.
Prosecutors alleged ultimately Roser repeatedly bashed Mr Saunders over the head with a metal bar, before he and Koenig put part of his body through the mulching machine.
Roser denied committing the murder, instead blaming Mr Koenig, but he did admit to "shamefully assisting" with disposing of Mr Saunders' body at the beginning of his trial.
He told the jury last week, if he did not help Koenig, he would "end up like Bruce".
Koenig, who was also originally charged with murder, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact earlier this year, in return for his testimony at the trial.
He was handed a suspended sentence and released from jail.
Saunders' son 'shattered' by death of 'best friend'
In victim impact statements read to the court, Collin Saunders described his brother as being "loved by all" and said his whole family continued to suffer with his life being "taken too soon".
"It is so hard trying to cope every day," his statement said.
"No words can describe our feelings."
His son Blake Saunders said in his statement his father was his "best friend" and he was "absolutely shattered and devastated" when he died.
"I could never have imagined something this shocking could happen to him," his statement said.
"I miss my dad."
Mr Saunders said details about the way he was killed were "unimaginably hard" to hear, and he could not comprehend such a "shocking and evil act of greed" by those responsible.
"Dad did not deserve to be remembered as the woodchipper victim," his statement said.
During sentencing submissions, Roser's lawyer Lars Falcongreen told the court his client was not "obviously directly motivated by greed".
"My client seems to have succumbed to the pressuring of Ms Graham," he said.
Mr Falcongreen said his client was "a lonely person" who had been manipulated by a "deceitful partner to do her bidding".
"He was too weak or too stupid to successfully separate from her and her aims," he said.
"His weakness and stupidity is his cross to bear, he is of course responsible for his own actions and its entirely his fault that he did not disconnect from Ms Graham."
'You are not a decent human being — far from it'
When handing down a mandatory life sentence, Justice Martin Burns told the court Mr Saunders was a "good man" who was kind and generous to a "fatal fault".
"He had something of a relationship with a woman who decided Mr Saunders had to be killed," he said.
Justice Burns told the court it was clear Mr Saunders was in the "clutch" of a "rare brand of evil".
"I have no doubt that she was the mastermind," he said.
Justice Burns called Roser's treatment of Mr Saunders "beyond the imagination of any decent human being" and his actions had caused "immeasurable and ongoing grief" to his family.
"But you are not a decent human being — far from it," he said.
"You were prepared to snuff out the life of another human being … and based on such a flimsy connection makes you a particularly dangerous individual."
Outside court Blake Saunders said he was glad this trial was over.
"I can't thank everyone who helped enough, especially the detectives and the police," he said.
"I'm just glad that this is one step closer to Dad having true justice."
He said he was a "loving father" and wanted people to remember "just how kind he was to me and others".
"He was just a good man who tried to help as many people as he could," he said.
Roser will have to serve at least 20 years in jail before being eligible for parole.
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2022-10-21 04:01:04Z
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