Samah Baler: Breakthrough as human remains of missing Sydney woman are found four years after her boyfriend murdered her

Human remains found in rural grasslands have been identified as belonging to a woman killed by her ex-boyfriend in a jealous rage.

The remains of Samah Baker, 30, were found along the Hume Highway about 100 yards south of the Windellama Road overpass, just outside Goulburn, NSW, on July 28 around 9:00 am.

Ms Baker was killed on 4 January 2019 by her ex-partner James Hachem, 37, after deciding not to spend New Year’s Eve with him.

“Samah was taken from us in the cruelest way,” Ms Baker’s family wrote in a statement.

“In the years that followed, our grief was compounded by the fact that we couldn’t hold a funeral or lay her to rest.”

Hachem was found guilty of the murder of Ms Baker and was sentenced on May 20 to a 24-year prison sentence and an 18-year unconditional prison sentence – retroactive to his arrest in 2019.

Despite waiting over four years for answers, Mrs. Baker’s family remains heartbroken because they “never got to say goodbye to her or tell her we loved her for the last time.”

“The news that her remains will be discovered four and a half years later is not a neat solution, but it does provide a small indication of what we have longed for all along,” the family’s statement reads.

“Each development in the case feels like a reopening of our barely healed wounds and reminds us of the harsh reality of our loss.”

“Even though the rest of Samah has been found, it feels like you’ve lost her all over again.”

Police confirmed that the remains belonged to Mrs Baker after examination by NSW Health Pathology.

Shortly after the police were notified, a crime scene was established in the vicinity where Mrs Baker’s remains were found.

“Specialist agents including Police Rescue and the Public Order and Riot Squad conducted extensive further searches of the area,” a NSW Police statement read.

Police will continue to work with the NSW Coroner to establish how Ms Baker died.

Hachem had tried to defend his accusations by putting forward a theory that Mrs. Baker committed suicide.

However, the jury disbelieved the theory after learning that he had waited outside her apartment in his car and spied on Mrs Baker while she was on a date, going into a jealous rage after confronting the couple in the early hours of 4 January had seen kissing. .

Ms Baker’s ex-boyfriend, James Hachem, was found guilty of Ms Baker’s murder and was sentenced to 24 years in prison on May 20 – retroactive to his arrest in 2019.

The couple had broken up and got back together several times, but Mrs. Baker had finally moved on and started a new relationship the month before her death.

The court was told that the 37-year-old had killed Ms Baker at around 7am in her apartment in Parramatta, western Sydney.

He could have gained access to her flat after calling her to lie that his parents had been in a car accident.

He then bought numerous items from the Bunnings hardware store, including a double sheet, gloves, cleaning supplies and a digging trowel, before driving to remote areas of rural NSW.

“Her murder has caused a great loss, the magnitude and impact of which cannot be expressed in words,” said NSW Supreme Court Justice Robertson Wright at Hachem’s sentencing on May 20.

‘Mrs Baker’s death was a great human tragedy, she was a captivating person who brought a sense of wholeness to those around her.

“The qualities of a particular victim can serve as a powerful reminder of the quality of human life itself, and all that goes into taking that away.”

Hachem will be eligible for parole in March 2037.