Shot on His Own Farm: The Unanswered Questions Surrounding Richard Wills’ Final Day.
A quiet Easter Sunday in the Victorian Mallee ended with a discovery that continues to haunt a small farming community. Richard Wills, 65, kissed his wife Donna goodbye around 8am on 5 April 2026 and left their home in Ouyen to work on his 1,600-acre property along the Mallee Highway. He never returned for lunch. Two days later searchers found his body in a shallow grave on the same land he had tended for years.
Police have confirmed that Richard died from a gunshot wound. Evidence at the scene indicated his body had been dragged behind a vehicle for a considerable distance before being covered with a thin layer of dirt. His ute and phone were located on the property. What remains unknown — and what investigators continue to pursue — is the motive and the identity of the person or people responsible.
Donna Wills has spoken publicly of her disbelief. “He was one to help anyone,” she said. “Why would they want to do it to him?” The couple had been together for four decades and married for 32 years. Richard was known as a workaholic who often stayed late servicing machinery or caring for the sheep and pigs on the sharecropping farm. Neighbours and friends described him as kind-hearted and reliable, the sort of man who would stop whatever he was doing to assist someone else.
The timeline of that Sunday remains sparse. Richard left home after breakfast in his usual high-visibility top and dark cap. Family members grew concerned when he failed to appear for the midday meal and began searching the sprawling property themselves. They found nothing. Donna formally reported him missing the following morning. A coordinated search involving police, State Emergency Service volunteers, relatives and friends culminated at approximately 1.30pm on Tuesday 7 April with the discovery of the shallow grave.
Detectives from Victoria Police’s Missing Persons Squad have taken the lead. Detective Senior Sergeant Steve Trewavas stated that Richard had clearly met with foul play, but the questions of who was involved and why remained unanswered. One early line of inquiry concerned reports that sheep had previously been stolen from the property. Police said they were mindful of that history, though later statements indicated no confirmed link to organised livestock theft or broader criminal networks. No arrests have been made.
Ouyen is a small town roughly 450 kilometres northwest of Melbourne, close to the South Australian border. The farm itself has multiple entrances and covers a large, open area of dusty paddocks. The isolation that once defined Richard’s working life now forms part of the challenge facing investigators. Anyone who saw him that morning, or who noticed unfamiliar vehicles or people near the property, has been asked to contact Crime Stoppers.
The family has been left reeling. A fundraising campaign launched in the days after the discovery raised thousands of dollars to support Donna and the wider family. Richard’s daughter spoke of the compounding grief of an earlier family loss and described the latest tragedy as another nightmare from which they could not wake. Friends have left tributes recalling a man who worked hard, helped freely, and seemed to have no enemies.
Public discussion has circled around the short, ordinary window between the morning farewell and the violence that followed. Richard followed a predictable routine. He was expected home. The presence of the grave on his own land, the evidence of dragging, and the confirmed gunshot wound have raised uncomfortable questions about whether someone was waiting for him or whether a confrontation escalated without warning. Police have appealed repeatedly for information that might close those gaps.
The investigation remains active. Forensic examination of the scene, the vehicle and the phone continues. Detectives are still seeking the motive that would explain why a 65-year-old grandfather who spent his days helping others was targeted on his own farm. Until that answer emerges, the final hours of Richard Wills stay marked by the simplest and most painful contrast: a kiss goodbye at the front door, and a shallow grave under the open Mallee sky.