Three people have been arrested and charged with the murder of a man who was found dead in a woodchipper near Gympie, Queensland, last year.
In November 2017, police found the body of 54-year-old Bruce Saunders inside an industrial woodchipper at a rural property in Goomboorian, according to a statement.
Police determined that Saunders had died after suffering severe injuries. They described the scene as “horrific” and “very distressing.”
Investigators initially believed the Nambour man fell into the machine while clearing trees, but later decided to treat the death as suspicious, reported the ABC.
“The injuries sustained were as horrific, as you can imagine, being consumed by a woodchipper,” Detective Inspector Pettiford said.
“After many months of very professional, painstaking, and thorough work, it’s culminated today with the arrest of the three offenders that we will be alleging murdered Mr Saunders.
“They are all associates and we will be alleging that it wasn’t an accident, and that they did conspire together to commit this offence,” added Pettiford, according to the ABC.
Two men, Gregory Roser, 59, and Peter Koenig, 61, were arrested in Deception Bay and Gympie on Tuesday morning, May 29.
Sharon Graham, 57, was arrested in Coolangatta while travelling into Queensland from New South Wales.
All three have been charged with one count each of murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
They appeared at Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said the arrests marked the closure of a vital phase in the investigation.
“The investigating police officers wish to thank the family members of Mr Saunders for their ongoing cooperation and also to members of the community who offered information during the investigation,” Detective Inspector Pettiford said.
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