Woodchipper death: Two men charged with murder of Bruce Saunders near Gympie
Updated
Two men have been charged with murder over the suspicious death of a man in a woodchipper near Gympie last year.
Police found the body of 54-year-old Bruce Saunders in the industrial woodchipper at a rural property in Goomboorian on November 13.
Investigators described the scene as "horrific", "absolutely shocking" and "very distressing".
Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said it was originally believed Mr Saunders from Nambour had fallen into the machine when clearing trees, but police later began treating the death as suspicious.
"We then commenced a coronial investigation to establish the cause of death that subsequently turned into a homicide investigation," 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," he said.
"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."
Two men, Gregory Lee Roser, 59, and Peter John Koenig, 61, from Deception Bay and Gympie, were taken into custody this morning and brought to the Maroochydore Watchhouse and are now assisting police with their enquiries.
The pair have been charged with one count each of murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
They are expected to appear in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court later today.
A 57-year-old woman was arrested in Coolangatta while she was travelling from New South Wales to Queensland and is expected to be charged today.
Detective Inspector 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," he said.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, emergency-incidents, accidents---other, accidents, disasters-and-accidents, crime, gympie-4570, qld, australia, maroochydore-4558, brisbane-4000
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