Accused killer ‘thought of dead mum to fake emotion over woodchipper death pics’: Court

A man accused of murdering Bruce Saunders summoned the memory of his dead mother to feign distress when showed photos of the dismembered body sticking out of a woodchipper, the prosecution alleges.

Gregory Roser and Sharon Graham.

A man accused of murdering a Nambour butcher summoned the memory of his dead mother to feign distress when showed photos of Bruce Saunders’ dismembered body sticking out of a woodchipper, the prosecution alleges.

Gregory Lee Roser, 63, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Saunders in Goomboorian, near Gympie, in November 2017 after a day of clearing trees on a property there.

The crown allege he clubbed Mr Saunders to death then fed his body through a woodchipper, to make it look like an accident, with the help of Peter Koenig who was later sentenced for accessory after the fact to murder.

The crown allege this was done at the request of Roser’s girlfriend Sharon Graham who stood to benefit financially from the death of Mr Saunders, her former partner.

Bruce Saunders

Pictures: Supplied

In his closing address crown prosecutor David Meredith said covert listening devices recorded Koenig asking Roser about his facial expressions during his police interview.

“(Roser said) I started getting upset about the photographs and I was thinking of my dead mother,” Mr Meredith told the court.

“He had to summon up some concern about his dead mother so that he could show the apparent distress at seeing Bruce’s body.

“Remember on his own story .... he’s saying ‘I helped put the body in the chipper’, so it would come as no surprise to him those gruesome photographs.”

The Goomboorian property where Bruce Saunders’ body was found in a woodchipper.

Mr Meredith urged the jury to discount Roser’s evidence that he kept rejecting Sharon Graham’s requests that he kill Mr Saunders because she kept asking him and trusting that he wouldn’t go to police “which he doesn’t ever do”.

“The only logical conclusion is … he may have rejected the means but he didn’t reject the ends,” Mr Meredith said.

Greg Roser and Sharon Graham.

He claimed Roser slipped up while giving evidence by saying the plan to kill Mr Saunders was discussed at a motel when his barrister Lars Falcongreen had earlier said the plan wasn’t talked about there, only the clearing of trees at the Goomboorian property.

Mr Meredith said Roser then “twigs” and said the clearing of trees was the discussion’s “main focus”.

Roser then said there was no discussion at the motel to kill Mr Saunders.

“That’s because he’s telling a lie and he can’t remember the lie,” Mr Meredith said.

In his evidence Roser alleged Koenig had murdered Mr Saunders and he assisted in disposing of the body because he was scared he’d “end up like Bruce” if he didn’t do what Koenig said.

Mr Meredith said this didn’t make sense.

“Would anyone believe that there were two accidental deaths and they’d ended up in the chipper,” Mr Meredith said.

“To lose one friend through a woodchipper is unfortunate, to lose two is incredible.

“He did not believe Koenig was going to kill him ... because he (killed Mr Saunders).”

Mr Meredith urged the jury to reject his version of events and “convict Greg Roser of murder”.

Justice Martin Burns summed up the case for the jury Tuesday afternoon before the jury retired to consider its verdict. The jury was sent home by 5pm and will continue deliberations Wednesday morning.

Originally published as Accused killer ‘thought of dead mum to fake emotion over woodchipper death pics’: Court