Episode notes
It looked like a tragic industrial accident at first, but Bruce Saunders’ death was planned. It was a calculated murder orchestrated by his ex-partner, a grandmother from suburban Queensland – Sharon Graham. Investigative journalist Tara Cassidy has been following this case for years. She’ll tell the full story behind the crime, including the manipulation, greed, and control that had been going on for years, and the police investigation that unearthed the truth. Crime in Focus: Killer Charm, coming soon to the LiSTNR App. All people convicted of murder related to this case have lodged their…
Transcript
Read the transcript · about 540 words, follows along as you listen
One spring evening in 2017, a woman woke to a tragedy on her rural Queensland property. There's been an accident. There's been an accident down on the road. He says, it's bruised. Three men had been clearing trees on the land. One of them had supposedly fallen into a wood chipper. Went inside, got my phone and I dialed triple O and they said, who do you want? And I said, you better just send everybody. My friend's gone through the wood chipper. Within days, police were looking at the accident in a new light.
Information has come to hand to indicate that the reporting of the death, which was reported as accidental, may not be the case. I'm sorry, so does that mean it's a murder investigation? We're treating it as a homicide investigation, yes. One of the police's main suspects was the victim's ex-partner, a grandmother who was nowhere near the property when the crime happened. They believed she planned to have her ex murdered and have someone else carry out the crime and cover up.
I'm Tara Cassidy, an investigative journalist from Brisbane. For the past five years, I've followed the murder of Bruce Saunders as the case wound its way through the courts. His ex, Sharon Graham, was on trial. I'll take you through the case the police built against Sharon and the men who helped her. I've obtained court documents, evidence and covert police recordings that have never been aired before. I didn't lie. I told him all the things right.
and honest to what I could do. And that's my truth. And heard the tactics police used to get to the truth and drive a confession. The story that you are telling us is unbelievable. So this is your opportunity to tell us what happened behind that machine. As I sat through the trial, I got to know those closest to the case. And in this series, some of them are speaking publicly for the first time. Sharon Graham, my mother, is extremely gifted at convincing people of what she wants them to believe.
She had him wrapped around her little finger like no tomorrow. to bring to light the dangers of manipulation and control and how it presents in seemingly normal people. And I said, no one sees the real Sharon, but I can see you clearly and you are not a nice person at all. And if anyone saw the signs before things turned fatal... She'd said, oh, I've had this premonition where I can see an accident happening and somebody's going to get hurt. It all started to gel.
It all started to come together. The men, the money... It was gut-wrenching. It was just absolutely something in my head was saying, something's not bloody right here. It's just not bloody right. You'll find out how a suburban grandmother orchestrated the murder of her ex-partner, how she convinced a man to commit the act, another to aid in the cover-up, and if they'll be brought to justice. And I overheard her saying in the kitchen, if one of us goes down for this, all of us go down for this.
Crime in Focus, Killer Charm. Coming soon. A listener production.
Transcript supplied by the publisher with the episode.
Podcast
Crime in Focus
LiSTNR · True Crime · English
<p>Killer Charm: It looked like a tragic industrial accident at first, but Bruce Saunders’ death was planned. It was a calculated murder orchestrated by his ex-partner, a grandmother from suburban Queensland – Sharon Graham. Investigative journalist Tara Cassidy has been following this case for year
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