POLICE are remaining tight-lipped about reports that the ex-girlfriend of a man who died following a horrific incident involving a woodchipper last year was now a person of interest in the case.
In November, Bruce Saunders’ body entered an industrial woodchipper on a rural property in Gympie in Queensland.
Initially it was thought a tragic accident ended the 54-year-old Nambour man’s life. The Courier-Mail on Wednesday reported that Mr Saunders’ 57-year-old former partner Sharon Graham was now a person of interest.
Two men who were with Mr Saunders when he died — Greg Roser, 58, of Deception Bay and Peter Koenig, 61, of Gympie — are also persons of interest, it had been reported.
It’s understood Ms Graham could be a major beneficiary of Mr Saunders’ estate, reported the Courier-Mail.
The publication did not suggest the trio had any involvement in Mr Saunders’ death, only that they were considered to have information which may be relevant to the case. Police have not confirmed the three as “persons of interest”.
In recent months, Police and the SES have re-examined the country property where the death was discovered.
Previously police had reportedly investigated the possibility of a love triangle motive in the grisly murder of the popular country butcher.
Mr Saunders died after he became trapped in a woodchipper while clearing a female friend’s property at Goomboorian near Gympie.
It was around 7.40pm on Sunday, November 12, and Mr Saunders was mulching branches with the woodchipper when it was just beginning to get dark.
It was his third weekend helping out “as an act of goodwill” to a woman who had been recently widowed.
When police were called to the “horrific” scene after Mr Saunders was said to have fallen into the vegetation shredder, they initially thought it was a tragic accident.
Gympie Police acting inspector Paul Algie later said after visiting the property that it was “one of the worst incident scenes I’ve ever seen”.
Inspector Algie said at the time the two male friends tried to save Mr Saunders after he became entangled in branches and was dragged into the woodchipper.
“It was actually quite horrific. His friends discovered him as he became entangled and attempted to extract him from the shredder and were unable to do so.
“So they’re obviously quite traumatised now,” he said.
But after reinterviewing the two men and other witnesses, detectives raided the property in February and seized “items of interest”.
Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford announced in February that the death was now the subject of a homicide investigation and officers had several “promising lines” of inquiries.
Insp Pettiford said Gympie detectives were contacted by people who knew Mr Saunders and had suggested his death might not have been an accident.
A love triangle was among the possible lines of inquiry.
On Wednesday, police told news.com.au that they couldn’t confirm the identities or the ages of people who might be persons on interest in the case.
They urged people with information on the death of Mr Saunders to contact Crimestoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or via crimestoppersqld.com.au.
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