THE man accused of murdering a former Swan Hill woman tracked his estranged wife’s movements and told her “if I can’t have you, no one will” before killing her and making it look like suicide, a court has been told.
Samantha Fraser’s estranged husband, Adrian James Basham, went on trial in Victoria’s Supreme Court this week after the mother of three was found dead in her Phillip Island home on July 23, 2018.
She was found by police conducting a welfare check after she failed to collect her children from school.
Mr Basham, 45, has pleaded not guilty to murder.
The trial, which is expected to run for six weeks, was supposed to start on November 8, but was postponed because of COVID-19 restrictions.
Ms Fraser, a psychologist, was the daughter of agronomist Trevor Fraser, who lived in Swan Hill for 40 years.
She was formerly the dux and captain of Swan Hill College, “a real community person”, according to her father.
Her death came a day after her 38th birthday.
On the day of her funeral more than 400 locals came together in Swan Hill to remember Ms Fraser.
The couple met in late 2005 and married in 2007.
Prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC told the court on Tuesday after years of Mr Basham’s domineering and controlling behaviour they separated in 2017, with Ms Fraser taking out intervention orders.
Mr Basham then turned up at her Cowes home and waited for 90 minutes, while she dropped their children at school and had coffee with a friend at a local cafe, before killing her.
“He strangled her with rope and then hanged her with the rope from the garage door,” Ms Rogers told the jury in her opening remarks.
“The accused then set about manipulating the crime scene to make it appear as though she killed herself.”
Mr Basham had threatened Ms Fraser after they separated, Ms Rogers said, warning her that violent criminals could easily break into her home.
Ms Fraser changed her locks and deleted a location app on her phone, which she thought Mr Basham was using to track her.
Mr Basham then called Ms Fraser and berated her, Ms Rogers said.
Mr Basham had also told one friend “just you wait and see, I’ll get her”, the prosecutor said.
He had told another friend he could follow her location through her phone bills, still linked to his account.
In the weeks before her death, Ms Fraser had told friends she felt unsafe and feared vindictive behaviour by Mr Basham.
Defence barrister Ashley Halphen said the fact Mr Basham assaulted Ms Fraser on the day she died – and therefore breached his intervention order – was not in dispute.
Mr Halphen said Mr Basham denied murdering his ex-wife, arguing that Ms Fraser took her own life after Basham left her home.
“This trial is more of a ‘whodunnit’ than anything else,” Mr Halphen said.
“This is a case about the human condition – how it works, and how it doesn’t work.
“This is also a case about perception. You will need to consider giving a context to people’s perception of other people.”
The trial is continuing.
– with AAP Anyone requiring crisis support can call the 1800 Respect national helpline, 1800 737 732, Lifeline, 131 114, the Safe Steps crisis response line, 1800 015 188, or the NSW Domestic Violence Line, 1800 656 463.
