ONE THUMBS-UP. ONE ORDINARY SELFIE. THREE DE-AD NEIGHBOURS — THE CHILLING DETAIL THAT GIVES DARRYL YOUNG’S PHOTOGRAPH A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MEANING
A cattle farmer gave a thumbs-up as he posed for a selfie just hours after he shot and killed three neighbours and attempted to kill a fourth.
Darryl Valroy Young, 63, was found guilty by a jury on Friday of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder following his trial in the Queensland Supreme Court sitting at Townsville.
Mervyn Schwarz, his wife Maree and her son Graham Tighe were shot dead at the gate to Young’s cattle station at Bogie, southwest of Townsville, on August 4, 2022.
Justice Christopher Johnstone on Monday sentenced Young to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 40 years for what he described as the offender’s ‘heinous’ actions.
Young opened fire on the family with a rifle ‘like he was killing feral animals on your property’, Justice Johnstone said.
The farmer also attempted to kill Graham’s brother Ross Tighe, who was shot in his lower torso.
A chilling photo taken six hours after the killings was among more than 100 exhibits shown to the jury during the trial and later published by The Courier Mail.
The image, taken by renewable energy worker Liam Parnell, showed Young looking directly into the camera and giving a thumbs-up.
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Darryl Young (left) gives a thumbs-up in a selfie requested by police six hours after he shot and killed three neighbours at his property
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Young, 63, will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after being found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder
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Police asked wind farm worker Liam Parnell (right) to take a selfie with colleague Matthew Garbutt, Darryl Young, Young’s son Derek Young and relative Sharon Young hours after the shooting
In a second photo, Young’s son Derek and relative Sharon Young were pictured with Matt Garbutt, who was conducting testing alongside Mr Parnell at the property on the day of the killings.
A pair of workers had arrived at 7.30am – about half an hour before the shooting – at Young’s front gate on August 4, 2022.
They drove to the property homestead before splitting into separate vehicles. The workers had no idea about the shooting, the trial was told.
At 11am, Mr Parnell was contacted by his boss and then police, who advised the group to stay where they were.
Officers asked Mr Parnell to take a photo of everyone he was with and requested they show their hands because there had been a shooting, he told the trial in August.
‘We spent the whole day up there,’ he told the court.
‘I was asked to take photos and send them across – a selfie of all of us up there.’
He told the trial Young appeared to be ‘relaxed’ throughout the afternoon and he noticed no change in his demeanour.
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The judge described the killings as ‘heinous’ actions. Pictured, officers attend the cattle station
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Mervyn Schwarz and his wife Maree (pictured), along with her son Graham Tighe, were shot and killed at close range on the driveway of Young’s cattle station on August 4, 2022
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Ross Tighe (right) underwent lifesaving emergency surgery after he was also shot
The group was later separated and questioned by police. Only Young was charged over the triple murder.
Also among the exhibits shown to the jury were chilling photos of the crime scene in Young’s driveway that first responders encountered.
One photo showed a cowboy hat and a pair of work boots lying in the red dirt near Mervyn Schwarz’s body.
A few metres away, Graham Tighe’s body lay on the ground near Maree Schwarz, who was slumped in the driver’s seat of a maroon LandCruiser.
A sign on the front gate of Young’s property warns trespassers not to enter. The driveway beyond was covered in police evidence markers.
Despite being wounded, Ross Tighe escaped by jumping into a car and drove 40km to get phone reception and alert police.
The jury heard Young killed his neighbours over the belief they had stolen livestock.
He called them to a meeting at his property gate at 8am on the day of the shooting.
The jury deliberated for three days following the four-week trial. Young will be 99 before becoming eligible for parole.
SOURCE: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16115619/darryl-young-bogie-triple-murder-selfie-queensland.html
