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Convicted murderer Adrian Basham has lost his fight to retain the half a million-dollar house he killed his estranged wife in, with a judge ordering it be forfeited to the state.
Basham, 46, killed Samantha Fraser inside her Seagrove Way home in 2018, staging the scene to look like a suicide.
Samantha Fraser; and CCTV images of Adrian Basham outside Fraser’s home and on his motorcycle.
On Tuesday, a Supreme Court judgment ended a prolonged battle over the Cowes estate, with Basham’s father James also losing his fight to retain the $15,000 black 2018 Kawasaki Ninja ZX1000 motorbike his son used as a getaway vehicle to and from the island crime scene.
The proceeds of both items, once they are forfeited to the state, are likely to go to Basham’s children and his elderly former in-laws who are now raising the pair.
Basham, who appeared without a lawyer, had argued he should be allowed to retain the $535,000 property to help bankroll legal fees to launch an appeal against his conviction after legal aid refused to take his case.
He was sentenced in February to life in jail for what Justice Lesley Taylor labelled a murder of the worst kind.
The Cowes property.Credit: Eddie Jim
Basham and Fraser jointly owned the Cowes home after buying it together in November 2012. Basham owns a second property at Smiths Beach, worth about $2.1 million.
After learning that the property would be confiscated, Basham, who appeared via video link from prison, told the court he wanted to keep the items inside the house which he claimed were his property.
He said his father was of extremely ill health and his sister under a lot of duress and unable to assist.
“Mr Basham I’m going to stop you there, this is not a matter I can assist you with,” Taylor said.
Adrian Basham (right) outside the Supreme Court in March.Credit: Paul Jeffers
“This is not a matter that is before me.”
In October 2022, the Director of Public Prosecutions applied to confiscate the property and the motorcycle, arguing both had been used in the commission of a crime.
The DPP also argued Basham had acquired the whole property under the law of survivorship because his estranged wife had died.
The court heard on the morning of the killing, Basham rode the motorbike to Seagrove Way and lay in wait in the front garden for more than two hours until Fraser returned from taking the children to school.
Samantha Fraser’s friends at court in February.Credit: Joe Armao
When Fraser drove into the garage, Basham followed and beat her before staging the scene to appear as though she had taken her own life.
The sentencing judge found Basham had left his sister’s house days earlier, intending to kill Fraser.
James Basham had fought to keep the motorbike, which was his son’s “pride and joy” to help alleviate the debt his son owed him for legal fees.
But Taylor rejected both men’s claims and said the forfeitures helped deter serious crimes in the community.
“It was a premeditated murder that occurred against a background of family violence,” the judge said.
“The offending itself consisted of Ms Fraser being subjected to a savage beating in which she sustained 41 separate blunt force injuries.
“The forfeiture of Seagrove Way is proportionate to the nature and gravity of the offending.”
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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