Defence lawyer tells court triple-murder survivor could be the killer

A defence lawyer has suggested that the man who says he survived a shooting that killed three members of his family could himself be responsible for the deaths.

Anthony J Kimmins made the allegation during closing arguments in the Supreme Court trial of Darryl Valroy Young in Townsville. Young, 63, has pleaded not guilty to three murder charges and to the attempted murder of Ross Tighe.

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Why would the murderer let Ross Tighe go?

Mervyn and Maree Schwarz and Maree's son, Graham Tighe, were found dead at the gate of Young's Bogie cattle station on August 4, 2022. Ross Tighe told the court that he saw Young shoot his family and that he was also wounded. The projectile remained in his body.

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It seems to remain one of life's great mysteries, unless the murderer was, in fact, Ross.

Kimmins urged jurors to question Tighe's account. He asked why a killer would allow a wounded survivor to escape, and argued that the alleged shooting could have been carried out by Tighe if Young was not at the gate. "Why would the murderer let Ross Tighe go?" Kimmins asked. "It seems to remain one of life's great mysteries, unless the murderer was, in fact, Ross."

The defence also challenged the firearms evidence. Investigators found .30-30 calibre cartridge cases near the bodies, while matching cartridges were found inside Young's home. Young testified that the cartridges were not his. Kimmins pointed to a doctor's description of Tighe's injury as "shrapnel" and argued that, if he had been hit by a lower-calibre weapon, a second gun must have been involved.

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If Ross Tighe had been shot with something of a low calibre, then he wasn't shot with a .30-30 projectile. That would mean there would have had to be a second gun there.