Sam Wilson High Country death: Coroner finds poison didn’t kill mum

Her body was found next to a jar labelled “posion” in remote bush, yet a coroner can’t say how Victorian woman Sam Wilson died.

Mystery surrounds the death of mother Sam Wilson, whose body was found in remote bushland nine months after she went missing.

Indications of poison, $1650 in cash and a charged mobile phone were found at a woman’s death scene in remote Victorian bush.

But what happened to Trayse Lee Whittaker — known locally as Sam Wilson — is set to remain a mystery after a Coroner could not say how she had died, nine months after her body was found off an isolated road at Abbeyard.

The last known sign 54-year-old Ms Whittaker was alive came on August 13, 2018, when her phone was used for a 3G data session through the early afternoon.

On May 11 the next year, her badly decomposed remains were found by hunters who had gone into a steeply inclining area of thick undergrowth, 100m off the Abbeyard Rd, 200km northeast of Melbourne.

Speculation surrounds the cause of Ms Wilson’s death.

Sam Wilson's former partner David Grady.

The 54-year-old was lying on her stomach beside a fallen tree, wearing a dark-blue snow jacket with the hood pulled up.

At the death scene were:

• A lidless glass jar with the word “posion” written on grey tape around it.

• A lid marked with the letters “phos dron”.

• A tan handbag containing $1650, a mobile phone, notebook, charger, coin purses and glasses case.

• A neatly folded beige jacket.

• A plastic bag containing food items.

• A lemonade bottle containing debris, plant and insect matter.

Coroner John Cain, in a recent finding, noted the phone still had 80 per cent charge, indicating it had been deliberately turned off after the last use.

A download report showed the last “power-up” event was on August 13, 2018, at 1.17pm.

Forensic pathologist Dr Joanna Glengarry said in the report to the Coroner that a post-mortem scan showed nothing to indicate any structural abnormality which could account for the death but noted such irregularities may not be detected because of decomposition.

“There was no evidence of trauma to the soft tissues present. There was no evidence of trauma to the skeleton,” Dr Glengarry’s report said.

“Due to the extent of decomposition, it is possible that there are injuries that were present that may longer be detectable. Conversely, it is also possible that there were no significant injuries at the time of death.”

Sam Wilson described life in Abbeyard as "paradise".

Toxicology revealed no cause of death, she said, and there was no poison detected.

No poison or drug was found in the lemonade bottle or jar but Dr Glengarry did note that “Phosdrin” is a trade name for an organophosphate insecticide.

“Ms Whittaker was located on the high side of the tree trunk, which measured approximately 35cm in diameter and provided concealment when approaching from below,” Mr Cain wrote.

Ms Whittaker, who was known in the region by the assumed name Samantha Wilson, had been in a relationship since 2012 with Abbeyard man David Grady.

It was an at-times fraught union.

In 2014, Mr Grady had reported to police that Ms Whitaker had stolen a large amount of money from him and left for Sydney.

They later reconciled but on July 27, 2018, he turned up at Myrtleford police station wanting advice on how to remove her from the property after she refused to leave when requested.

He later stated that as things deteriorated, he was spending a lot of time hunting.

The report stated that on August 12, Mr Grady said his daughter called and said a friend needed some help “in town” so, after silently crossing paths with Ms Whittaker, he left and stayed away for several days.

Sam Wilson's former partner David Grady (right) was among those questioned over the mum's death.

Later that day, Ms Whittaker complained to a friend, Victor Skein, that Mr Grady had assaulted her and that she had decided to leave.

Mr Skein said he offered to pick her up the next day but she declined.

The finding noted that the Abbeyard property’s owner Ken Heywood had said that Ms Whittaker was stressed about Mr Grady wanting her out and that he would have her phone disconnected because they were on the same bill.

A day later, a friend of Mr Grady posted on Facebook derogatory messages about Ms Whittaker, before taking them down.

Ms Whittaker expressed concern to another friend about her phone being cut then had a 3G data session which ended at 2.04pm, the last recorded use of her mobile.

Mr Cain’s report said that, at 4.44pm, Mr Grady visited the Telstra store in Wangaratta and disconnected her from the account.

Mr Grady said he returned to Abbeyard two days later and found Ms Whittaker gone and animals out of their cages and pens.

During the next week, Mr Grady and a mate packed her belongings, donating some to charity and burning others.

He never reported her missing, saying he “assumed she had left working again and just never returned.”

It was in October that Mr Skein went to Wodonga police station and said he had not seen Ms Whittaker for months.

Coroner Cain made no adverse findings about Grady in his final report.

No one has been charged over the death of Ms Whittaker.

The case remains the subject of a homicide squad investigation.