Samantha Fraser, a Melbourne mother who was killed, left behind small children who were cruelly teased by classmates over their grief.
On July 23, 2018, 44-year-old Adrian Basham killed his estranged wife in the garage of her parents’ Phillip Island house before making it seem as if he had committed himself.
His 13-year-old daughter Jemima spoke to him in front of the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday about how she had been made fun of because of his deed.
One youngster said, “I guess her mom didn’t even die and she’s simply acting this way to attract attention.”
“What if Jemima becomes insane like her father and murders us?” What will you do—cry to your mother about it?
“Fatherless conduct. Go commit suicide as your mother did.
On the day their mother was killed, Jemima, then 9 years old, was left with her younger sister April, 7, and brother Rex, 5, waiting for their mother by the school flagpole.
The kids now reside with their elderly grandparents, who also gave the murderer of their daughter strong victim impact statements.
The court was informed that Rex’s classmates teased him in the days before Father’s Day.
Samantha’s mother Janine Fraser said in court that Rex came home from school angry because a guy suggested he write “Thanks dad for killing mom” in his Father’s Day card.
Jemima assured her “monster” father that his deeds would not break her in the face of the family’s suffering.
She told Basham, who kept grumbling during his Supreme Court of Victoria pre-sentence hearing, “I’m here to tell you I’m a warrior.”
Ms. Fraser’s love for her kids instantly raised questions about her alleged suicide.
On Phillip Island, which is southeast of Melbourne, her beaten corpse had been discovered hanging from the garage door of her parents’ guarded Seagrove Way house.
While her parents were abroad on a vacation to the United States, Basham struck.
He allegedly entered the garage as Ms Fraser was walking back from a buddy meeting, according to the police.
Basham’s biological material was discovered beneath Ms Fraser’s two fingernails, according to DNA evidence.
Although Basham had consistently denied killing Ms Fraser, it ultimately took the jury a little over a day to find him guilty of the intentional killing.
Jemima revealed to her father that she had been to court to make sure that her mother was given justice.
The adolescent battled back tears as she denounced her father’s heinous conduct, saying “I have suffered” three times before continuing.
She said to Basham, “I have battled anxiety and even suicidal thoughts, but I am here today to show people that I am a warrior and we will obtain justice for my mother.”
Jemima listed her three motivations for confronting her callous father.
“To have the life my mother deserves.” For myself, for my loved ones, and for my friends. In the years after my mother was abducted, I battled. Even with the help, it is quite difficult, she said.
Jemima informed Basham that it had taken her four hard months to put the words she wanted him to understand together.
“He killed my mother. He wrecked so many other lives by taking Sammy’s life. Even just the idea that my mother might be taken away in a matter of minutes, despite the boundless love she received from everyone throughout her life, makes me sick, Jemima remarked.
And it’s something another to be in court because it’s true, My whole existence was torn apart. I forfeited my mother, father, social life, and opportunity for a typical future.
The court was informed that Jemima’s younger siblings had gone through a similar ordeal, with little Rex being so terrified of his father that he built a fort in his bed during his father’s trial.
His grandma spoke in court on his behalf and said, “To keep the monsters out.”
April, who is now 9 years old, said in court that her father “took the best part of her heart away.”
But the court heard Basham was still looking for justifications for murdering his wife, which was a smack in the face to his kids.
The court heard Basham assert it had been his wife who had invited him around on the day he would murder her. This was an astonishing accusation, not made before the jury that convicted him guilty.
Additionally, Basham’s attorney, Ashley Halphen, said that the beating, murder, and hanging of his estranged wife from the garage door of her parents’ house occurred “spontaneously.”
According to Mr Halphen, “it is obvious and reasonable that he went to the household with a non-violent objective.”
In an effort to assist the Frasers in giving their kids everything they would have financially gotten to enjoy if their mother were still living, a GoFundMe page has been created.
After Basham refused to leave the jail dock, the plea hearing had to be stopped.
In court again the following month.