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🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Wind farm workers detail photo with accused farmer after alleged triple murder

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • A Queensland farmer, charged with three murders and one attempted murder, is on trial in the Supreme Court.
  • Prosecution witnesses, including wind farm workers, testified about their interactions with the accused on the day of the alleged shootings.
  • The defense claims the accused did not see the victims at his property gate on the morning of the incident.

A Queensland Supreme Court trial is hearing testimony from witnesses in the case of a farmer accused of a triple murder and an attempted murder. Darryl Valroy Young, 63, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include the murders of Mervyn and Maree Schwarz, and Maree's son Graham Tighe, as well as the attempted murder of Graham's brother, Ross Tighe.

We spent the whole day up there.

— Liam ParnellLiam Parnell, a wind farm worker, describing the group's activities on the day of the alleged shootings.

Wind farm workers Liam Parnell and Matt Garbutt testified that they arrived at Mr. Young's Bogie cattle station around 7:30 a.m. on August 4, 2022. They estimated seeing Mr. Young again after 8:30 a.m. and later learned of the shooting after 11 a.m. while installing equipment with Mr. Young and others nearby. Mr. Parnell stated that Mr. Young appeared relaxed and showed no change in demeanor throughout the afternoon.

The defense has argued that Mr. Young did not see the victims at his property gate on the morning of the alleged shootings. This contrasts with Ross Tighe's testimony, who stated the incident occurred at the farmer's front gate after 8 a.m. Photos presented in court showed Mr. Young and others giving a thumbs-up, though one photo showed him smiling while others in the group did not.

I was asked to take photos and send them across, a selfie of all of us up there.

— Liam ParnellLiam Parnell explaining the request made by police after the alleged incident.

Further testimony came from grazier Brett Stagg, a neighbor of both the victims and the accused, who was questioned about a missing gun. The trial continues as the court pieces together the events of that day.

relaxed in the ATV

— Liam ParnellLiam Parnell describing Darryl Young's demeanor in the afternoon.
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Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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