Woodchipper murderer fights to appeal guilty verdict

A man who brutally clubbed his friend to death and fed him through a woodchipper at the behest of his then-partner is vying to appeal the verdict over one small detail at his trial.

Gregory Lee Roser (left) was found guilty of the murder of Bruce Saunders (right)

A man who brutally clubbed his friend to death and fed him through a woodchipper at the behest of his then-partner is vying to appeal the verdict over one small detail at his trial.

Gregory Lee Roser was found guilty in October 2022 of the murder of Nambour butcher Bruce Saunders in November 2017.

After a five-week trial, a jury found that Roser had struck Mr Saunders to death with an iron bar on a property outside Gympie and fed him through a woodchipper.

The murder had been orchestrated by Roser’s then-partner, Sharon Graham, who was Mr Saunders’ former partner and the sole beneficiary of his $750,000 life insurance policy.

Both Graham and Roser were sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty at trial.

Sharon Graham was found guilty of orchestrating the death of her ex-partner Bruce Saunders

Their cases had initially proceeded to trial at the same time, but Graham was granted a separate trial some days in.

Justice Martin Burns told the jury at the time that there were cases where it simply became too much to ask the jury to give the defendants separate consideration.

“That would be where there is just so much evidence that you need to put out of your minds, especially where some of that evidence is highly prejudicial, that to ask you to give the cases separate consideration would be asking you to perform impossible mental gymnastics,” he said.

On appeal, Roser’s defence team submitted that the reference to “highly prejudicial” evidence could have affected the jury’s perception of the case against Roser as well as Graham.

It was further submitted that the trial justice should have given the jury specific directions telling them not to speculate on the reasons for Graham’s separate trial.

Greg Roser (left) with Sharon Graham.

Crown prosecutor Mark Green pointed out that the defence counsel hadn’t sought any further directions or to discharge the jury at the time.

“There could not possibly have been, following the very detailed directions that were given at the end of the trial, and considering the way in which the evidence was presented to the jury, any room at all for speculation outside of that evidence,” he said.

President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Debra Mullins, commented that she thought Justice Burns directions had been “very good” and left “no room” for fear that the jury would “go off on a tangent” about Graham’s separate trial.

“I thought it was exceptional the arrangements that were implemented at the trial to ensure that (Roser)’s interests were protected,” she said.

Justice Mullins said a reserved decision would be given at a later date.