Three people charged with murder over Queensland woodchipper death
Three people have been charged with murder over the death of a Queensland man whose body was "consumed by a woodchipper" last year,
Police charged two men and a woman with the murder of Bruce Saunders, 54, with all three expected to face Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday afternoon.
Mr Saunders died in November after reportedly falling into a woodchipper while clearing a driveway at Goomboorian near Gympie, north of Brisbane.
Police initially treated Mr Saunders’ death as a “tragic accident” before officers received information that the death was suspicious.
A 59-year-old Deception Bay man and a 61-year-old Gympie man were taken to the watchhouse in Maroochydore, at the Sunshine Coast, on Tuesday morning.
The men were charged with one count each of murder and attempting to pervert the course of justice, police said.
Following the men's arrest, police also arrested a 57-year-old Sunshine Coast woman at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast as she was travelling home to Gympie for a medical appointment, Wide Bay police district Detective Inspector Gary Pettiford said.
She had been visiting a friend in Grafton, NSW, before she was intercepted by police. She was later charged and, along with the two men, would appear in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Tuesday.
Inspector Pettiford said police will allege "it wasn't an accident and they did conspire together to commit this offence".
“After many months of very professional, painstaking and thorough work, it has culminated today with the arrest of the three offenders that we will be alleging murdered Mr Saunders," he said.
“The injuries sustained were horrific, as you can imagine, being consumed by a woodchipper.”
During the homicide investigation, police searched the property, found several items of interest and interviewed a number of people, including two of Mr Saunders' friends who found the body.
Mr Sauders had spent the past three weekends at the property "doing a favour" for the resident, who was a family friend.
Inspector Pettiford said police officers would be preparing a brief of evidence in relation to the investigation.
He briefed Mr Sauders' family regarding the arrests on Tuesday morning and said they had shown "great patience" during the investigation.
“They have been just unbelievable throughout this process, they have remained calm, they are obviously very upset today as you can appreciate but very thankful that this stage of the investigation is complete," he said.