Samantha Fraser was brutally murdered at the hands of her estranged husband. Photo / Supplied
Samantha Fraser was brutally murdered at the hands of her estranged husband. Photo / Supplied
A Victoria man who waited outside his estranged wife's house before brutally attacking her and making her death look like a suicide has been found guilty of murder.
After a six week trial in Australia, a Supreme Court jury found Adrian Basham guilty of murdering his estranged wife and mother of his three children Samantha Fraser in her Phillip Island garage on July 23, 2018.
Prosecutors had submitted Basham lay in wait for his wife to return home from school drop-off before he followed her into her garage, assaulted her and tied a rope around her neck.
Police found Fraser's body in the garage later that day after she failed to pick up her kids from school.
During the trial, lawyers for Basham told the court while Basham confessed to assaulting Fraser, he did not kill her and instead claimed she took her own life.
But that theory was dismissed by the jury which handed down its guilty verdict today.
The court was earlier told the couple had been married for a decade but separated in 2017.
Fraser had been living in fear of her estranged husband and sought help from psychologists, and even changed the locks on her home out of concern that Basham was following her.
She feared violent repercussions of ending their relationship.
During her opening address prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC said Fraser had taken out intervention orders against Basham.
She then explained how he turned up at Fraser's Cowes home and waited for 90 minutes while she dropped their children at school and had coffee with a friend before killing her once she returned.
Adrian Basham has been found guilty of murder. Photo / Supplied
Rogers submitted Basham strangled his ex-wife and then set up the crime scene to make it appear she had killed herself.
The court heard Basham previously told his friend: "Just you wait and see, I'll get her".
However, his lawyers argued he was not violent or aggressive.
He will be sentenced at a later date.
How to get help
If you're in danger now: • Phone the police on 111 or ask neighbours or friends to ring for you. • Run outside and head for where there are other people. Scream for help so your neighbours can hear you. • Take the children with you. Don't stop to get anything else. • If you are being abused, remember it's not your fault. Violence is never okay.
Where to go for help or more information: • Women's Refuge: Crisis line - 0800 REFUGE or 0800 733 843 (available 24/7) • Shine: Helpline - 0508 744 633 (available 24/7) • It's Not Ok: Family violence information line - 0800 456 450 • Shakti:Specialist services for African, Asian and Middle Eastern women and children. Crisis line - 0800 742 584 (available 24/7) • Ministry of Justice: For information on family violence • Te Kupenga Whakaoti Mahi Patunga: National Network of Family Violence Services • White Ribbon: Aiming to eliminate men's violence towards women
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