THE morning of the day she died in 2018, Samantha Fraser said she was in the “beginning of a wonderful new stage of my life”, a court has heard.
A Crown prosecutor told the Supreme Court in Melbourne her death later that day was at the hands of her ex-husband Adrian Basham, who had made her death “appear as a suicide”.
Mr Basham, on trial for murder, has admitted to assaulting Ms Fraser on the day of her death but has denied the charge.
Ms Fraser’s then partner, Wayne Foster, told the court on Thursday he received a text message from her on the morning of July 23 reading “the beginning of a wonderful new stage of my life xo” after he had inquired about her birthday the previous day.
Mr Foster said Ms Fraser had told him previous birthdays with her ex-husband had been difficult.
The court had previously heard she was “terrified” of her estranged husband, who had allegedly said he would “destroy” her.
Earlier in the week, mental health social worker Donna Zander told the court Ms Fraser was “probably the most hypervigilant person” she had worked with in 35 years.
The court also heard that Ms Fraser had told social worker Sharon Church that Mr Basham had said “you never know when someone will break into your house and do you harm”.
The court has heard she told psychologist Terence Melvin Mr Basham had said: “If I can’t have you, no one will.”
A friend of Mr Basham, Wayne Galea, told the court that following his own marriage breakdown Mr Basham had encouraged him to track his ex-wife “because he can track Samantha using some phone thing”.
Mr Foster told the court he last saw the mother of three as they hugged and kissed goodbye near the Cowes cafe G’Day Tiger and said he assumed he would see her when he picked up his own child from school.
On arrival, however, he saw the children with Ms Fraser’s close friend Christina Aitken.
Ms Aitken had previously told the court Ms Fraser “never” left her children unattended and she tried calling her friend multiple times before taking them to the school office.
The school contacted police and Bass Coast Health, where Ms Fraser had missed a noon counselling appointment.
Police then visited Ms Fraser’s home, where they found her body.
The trial continues.
