Adrian Basham: Wife-killer jailed for life over heinous murder of Samantha Fraser
Applause rang out in a Melbourne courtroom as “heinous” wife-killer Adrian Basham was told he’d be an old man when - or if - he’s released from prison.
Wife killer Adrian Basham has been handed a maximum sentence after murdering his estranged partner and staging the scene to look like she took her own life.
Basham returned to the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday for sentencing after he was found guilty of the “execution-style” murder of Samantha Fraser on Phillip Island in 2018.
Basham sat in the rear of the courtroom, showing little emotion as Justice Lesley Taylor sentenced him to serve a minimum of 30 years in prison for the “savage” killing.
Just a few metres away, members of Ms Fraser’s family wore white ribbons – representing a movement to end gendered violence – as they studied Basham’s face.
Applause rang out in the courtroom and tears flowed as Justice Taylor said he would be an old man if or when he is released from prison.
The pair had separated permanently in April 2017 after a decade of marriage marred by violence, control and fear.
Ms Fraser had lived with her parents after the split, but returned to live in the home they once shared with her children.
Basham, 46, has always maintained his innocence, claiming he had waited outside her home and violently attacked her, but left while she was still alive.
Justice Taylor said this was a “ludicrous” suggestion.
“Ms Fraser was terrified of you, less than 48 hours before you murdered her, she told friends she was more vigilant because you had been sighted on the island,” she said.
“She had told many people she was feeling stronger and looking forward to a new life.
“This was objectively heinous, it was the ultimate act of family violence.”
Ms Fraser was found dead in her garage on July 23, the day after her 38th birthday, after not picking her children up from school.
Basham had been lying in wait for her to arrive home from dropping the children to school, pouncing about 11am as she pulled in.
He savagely beat her, hanging her from the garage mechanism and staging the scene to look like she had taken her own life.
Ms Fraser had been due to give evidence at a committal hearing against Basham a week later, over allegations he had raped her while they were together.
Justice Taylor found a “large part” of the motive of her murder was to prevent her giving evidence, alongside his “rage and jealousy” that she had begun to move on.
“Your decision to execute Ms Fraser, a woman who had found the courage to leave you … was cold,” she said.
“You are unmoved by the numerous statements detailing the lives you have forever scarred. This is conduct that is selfish to the extreme.
“You are utterly without remorse.”
Basham was sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 30 years.
The court had previously heard Basham is a “marked man” in prison and is in protective custody after receiving threats from other prisoners.