UNREPENTANT Phillip Island murderer, Adrian Basham, 46, was told to stand in the dock by Supreme Court Judge Lesley Taylor as she delivered a penalty of life imprisonment, with a minimum of 30 years to serve, for the “worst case” murder of his estranged wife Samantha Joy Fraser on July 23, 2018.

With time off for the 1670 days already served, Mr Basham will be more than 71 years of age by the time he is eligible for parole.

The sentencing was greeted by a brief round of applause from the gallery where many of Ms Fraser’s friends and family members were in attendance.

But there can be no release for them, or for the local community.

As detailed by Justice Taylor, reading from some of the 16 victim impact statements, during the sentencing hearing in the Melbourne Supreme Court on Monday, February 28, the vision of Ms Fraser’s lifeless body hanging in the garage of her family home, in a new Cowes’ residential estate, is one that will never leave them.

Ms Fraser’s father Trevor, who was praised highly by the judge for the manner in which he has conducted himself during the trial, included photos of his daughter with his victim impact statement, which according to Ms Taylor showed “a vibrant woman in the peak of her life”.

She said he noted that he now acutely felt the responsibility for looking after his daughter’s three children when he might otherwise have been in retirement.

One of Ms Fraser’s daughters said the loss of her mother “left a gap in her heart that would never be filled”.

But she said that her mother “will always be the angle who lights up my life”.

Her mother Janine said her oldest daughter’s middle name of “joy” which barely described the feeling she was able to bring others around her, but that the image of her daughter’s last moments was with her every day.

Friends described how the crime had impacted their own lives, some since being diagnosed with PTSD.

“All feel the acute loss of a treasured friend and find it hard to move beyond the events of July 2018,” Justice Taylor said.

Prior to sentencing, Justice Taylor reprised the evidence in the case saying that while aspects of the murder appeared ad hoc, she was convinced Mr Basham intended for Ms Fraser to die when he surprised her in the garage of her home on Monday morning, July 23, 2018 after she had dropped the children off at school and enjoyed coffee with friends at a Cowes' cafe.

After giving his ex-wife a “brutal beating”, Ms Taylor said Basham had likely wiped blood from her face and hair and removed a blood-spattered white shirt before hanging her.

“A large part of your motivation in killing her was to prevent her from testifying in a rape case against you,” said Justice Taylor, noting that it was incomprehensible that Mr Basham would not have known about the case, and his wife’s intention to testify, at a committal hearing in a week’s time.

Justice Taylor also rejected claims during the trial that Ms Fraser was depressed and in a frame of mind to commit suicide.

She said the evidence from her friends and family was that Ms Fraser’s depression had dissipated, that she told a lot of people she was happy and at last moving on with her life.

She said she had her hair done ahead of the impending rape hearing and was looking forward to having her say in court.

Ms Taylor said she took into account 14 character references submitted on Mr Basham’s behalf, describing him variously as “a helpful, positive and considerate person”, as “a kind, loyal and caring friend, devoted to his children” and “the most selfless person I have ever met”.

But despite noting Mr Basham’s lack of prior offending and evidence that the assault on Ms Fraser was out of character, she said incidents of family violence were often perpetrated by men who were otherwise of good character.

“I don’t believe that a man of good character with no prior convictions is incapable of committing a crime in the worst category.”

Accordingly, Justice Taylor ruled that the “abysmal conduct” of Adrian Basham in murdering his former wife in such circumstances, “utterly without remorse”, despite the unanimous decision of the jury and its obvious impact on the people around him, warranted that it be considered in the worst category of the offence, attracting a life sentence.

Ms Taylor said there had to be a strong element of general deterrence in the penalty, sending a clear message to other perpetrators of family violence that they will receive a lengthy period in prison for such crimes.

Justice Taylor said a sentence of 25 years was considered appropriate for murders in the middle range, but that this offending exceeded the middle range, “and is in the worst category”.

“Corrections officers, please remove Mr Basham,” she said at the conclusion of proceedings.

All that remains now is for disposal and forfeiture orders to be decided.

As Samantha Fraser’s father Trevor also said, in his victim impact statement, there was a cloud hanging over every year while court proceedings were scheduled… at least now, the legal ordeal may be over.

Excerpts from Justice Taylor’s decision

JUSTICE Lesley Taylor sets out her reasons for concluding the murder of Phillip Island’s Samantha Fraser in July 2018, by her estranged husband Adrian Basham, was premeditated and in the worst category of murders.

Here are a few excepts from her remarks at the sentencing on Monday this week:

• Ms Fraser was your estranged wife. You married in March 2007, had three children and settled in Cowes, Phillip Island. The marriage experienced difficulty and eventually broke down. You separated permanently in April 2017. After an initial period in which Ms Fraser lived with her parents, she returned to live with the children in the former matrimonial home.
• Ms Fraser lived in abject fear of you. Both during the relationship and after you had separated, she told friends and professionals that she was petrified of you, that you were monitoring her physical movements and electronic communications and that you had made threats that you would destroy her.
• On the morning of 23 July 2018, having taken considerable measures to attempt to disguise your presence on Phillip Island, you approached Ms Fraser’s home moments after she left to drive the children to school. You secreted yourself and lay in wait.
• The post mortem examination established that Ms Fraser died of hanging in the setting of multiple blunt force injuries.
• By any measure your offending was extremely grave. You invaded the legal and physical sanctity of Ms Fraser’s home, surprising her and subjecting her to a savage beating before hanging her.
• An issue arose at the hearing of your plea as to whether your offending falls into the ‘worst category’ such as to justify the imposition of a life sentence.
• Inside the garage you savagely assaulted Ms Fraser. You admit to causing her non-fatal injuries.Ms Fraser sustained 41 separate blunt force injuries in the nature of bruises and potential abrasions to the face, head, neck, upper limbs, lower limbs, fingers and hands. Some were visible on the skin and others were much more visible only under the skin. The injuries were consistent with the application of blunt force such as a punch, a kick or a fall. The injuries to the fingers were consistent with defensive injuries sustained while blocking.
• I am satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that your murder of Samantha Fraser was premeditated.
• First, you attempted to disguise your presence near or on Phillip Island generally and around [the address] in particular.
• Second, you approached the address on foot moments after Ms Fraser left in her car with the children. This indicates that you were waiting and watching for her to leave.
• Third, I am satisfied that your physical attack on Ms Fraser happened moments aftershe had driven into the garage. I consider it most likely that you surprised her as she sat in the driver’s seat after entering the garage in her car. Ms Fraser’s handbag remained undisturbed on the front seat. Her mobile phones, one of which was a dedicated safety phone, remained in the console.
• Fourth, while there are aspects of the murder that appear ad hoc, I find that you intended and planned for Ms Fraser to die…it is inconceivable that you could have thought that you could persuade her to withdraw the rape complaint or make concessions in the Family Court proceedings by turning up unannounced and arguing with her.
• Fifth, I consider that Ms Fraser was either unconscious or dead by the time Ms Matthews telephoned at 11:36am. This strengthens my conclusion that the attack was immediate and was your long held, sustained goal.
• Sixth, the suggestion that Samantha Fraser took her own life after you had so brutally attacked her is ludicrous.
• Seventh, there was no point in you removing the white shirt if Ms Fraser was alive when you left. I consider that you had that shirt concealed in the front of your hooded jacket when you ran away from the scene.
• Eighth, there was unanimous evidence that the depression Ms Fraser experienced in the immediate aftermath of her separation from you had dissipated.
• Finally, I am also satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that a large part of your motive in killing Ms Fraser was to prevent her from giving evidence against you in the rape proceedings.