![Grandfather and father-of five Richard Wills [pictured with his wife Donna] was brutally murdered on his own land](https://citigist.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/A-community-in-fear-A-distraught-wifes-grief-The-most.jpg)
Victorian farmers suspect a ruthless Middle Eastern gang is behind the brutal murder of a sheep grazier, amid fears organised crime is trying to muscle in on the industry.
Police are hunting the killers of Richard ‘Willsy’ Wills, 65, who was last seen leaving his home in Ouyen, about 450km north-west of Melbourne near the South Australian border, on Easter Sunday.
Victorian detectives believe he suffered a horrendous ordeal before being fatally shot, including being dragged behind a vehicle and then his body buried in a shallow grave.
On Wednesday, terrified local farmers renewed their pleas for help from authorities to track down the killers of the beloved grandfather and father-of-five.
Victorian farmer Kevin Butler branded the deadly sheep rustling the ‘Bondi massacre in the bush’.
‘If this shocking death happened at Bondi, it would be plastered everywhere with the same passion police had in finding [cop-killer] Dezi Freeman – no matter the cost and with every resource called in,’ he posted on social media.
‘But not for this farmer, who could have been you or me.
‘We’ve heard NOTHING since from police. The silence here is hardly golden – it smacks of unconscionable indifference and incompetence.’
![Grandfather and father-of five Richard Wills [pictured with his wife Donna] was brutally murdered on his own land](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2026/04/15/07/107902325-15734151-Grandfather_and_father_of_five_Richard_Wills_pictured_with_his_w-a-24_1776233247828.jpg)
Grandfather and father-of five Richard Wills [pictured with his wife Donna] was brutally murdered on his own land
Mr Butler has been warning farmers across Victoria about the suspected Middle Eastern crime gangs targeting lambs since last year.
‘There is a multi-million dollar Merino-theft mafia of Middle Eastern appearance operating in Central and Northern Victoria,’ he said again on Wednesday.
‘And the same Richard Wills Ouyen farmer – who had his sheep stolen just weeks before – is found dead from horrific injuries.
‘Imagine being dragged behind a 4WD and a fatal gunshot wound.’
Detectives revealed on Saturday they were investigating whether links to livestock theft in the region were a factor.
It is understood that, shortly before his death, Mr Wills had reported some of his sheep had also been stolen.
Det Snr Sgt Steve Trewavas added: ‘It’s an avenue of enquiry for us and the Missing Persons Squad remains open to all possibilities.’
Identikit images, based on witness descriptions of three men suspected of being involved in the alleged sheep thefts in the region, have also been shared online.
Identikit images, based on witness descriptions of three men suspected of being involved in the alleged sheep thefts in the region, have also been shared online by farmers
Locals believe this vehicle was caught in the act stealing sheep in Kurting in August last year
Those men are believed to have been caught in the act on the morning of May 21 last year at Strathlea, north of Ballarat, while stealing sheep.
Mr Butler said those offenders stole 80 merino sheep worth about $12,000 from his farm.
Detective Senior Constable Daniel Barker said police suspected a ‘network of offenders’ made repeat trips to the property, possibly over a couple of days.
‘These farmers are doing it hard enough as it is with the drought … let alone having people coming onto their property and stealing livestock,’ he said at the time.
‘These offenders are targeting paddocks, travelling on back roads under the cover of darkness sometimes.’
It was not the first time Mr Butler’s farm had been targeted, the ABC reported then.
He said he had tried security cameras and had since fitted GPS-tracking eartags that give an alert when stock is moved at irregular hours.
‘Sheep are immediately slaughtered in the bush – often in a truck with the offal and entrails tossed amongst the trees and were once seen tossed into a creek,’ Mr Butler said.
Widow Donna Wills joined Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Trewavas of the Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Squad to ask the public for help in finding her husband’s killers
‘Merinos are the sheep of choice as they are easily exhausted by chasing them down in paddocks then caught when they collapse, and thrown into enclosed vehicles.
‘They endure sickening and horrific deaths – bled out while conscious and held down to flail around, kicking their legs, taking about two minutes to die.’
Drones have also been reported buzzing over farms in suspected reconnaissance missions by the thieves.
‘We believe there is a possibility that Richard Wills of Ouyen caught the crims in the act of sheep stealing on his farm and confronted them,’ said Mr Butler.
He said it had echoes of the incident in Strathlea last May when a local woman tried to block in the thieves but she was then threatened by a man with a steel pipe.
The horrific death of Mr Wills has triggered an outpouring of grief in the area.
A GoFundMe quickly raised almost $10,000 for the Wills family in the days since his savage murder was made public.
Mr Wills had gone to work at his rural property on the Mallee Highway about 8am as usual, after his daily farewell kiss for his wife of 32 years, Donna.
Ouyen is situated on the border of Victoria and South Australia
When he didn’t return for lunch, family members scoured the 650-hectare share-cropping and livestock farm to no avail.
Mrs Wills reported him missing when he still hadn’t returned the following morning.
His body was found by police about 1.30pm the next day. He had been fatally shot and left in a shallow grave.
Mrs Wills choked back tears as she told reporters about the last time she saw her beloved husband alive.
‘He just kissed me goodbye, and I imagined I would see him at lunchtime,’ she said.
‘Five kids, lots of grandkids that are gonna miss him … If he needed a tyre, he’d help them. If he needed fuel, he’d help them.
‘He was one to help anyone – kind-hearted, give you anything.’
Police said they were shocked at the brutality of the crime. Detectives believe Mr Wills was likely killed by someone he knew.
‘We’re hoping that this appeal leads to someone coming forward and doing the right thing, it can be done anonymously, so that we can hold those responsible to account,’ Sen Sgt Trewavas said.
Anyone with information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
