A 63-year-old cattle farmer, Darryl Valroy Young, has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering three neighbours and attempting to kill a fourth man during a cattle dispute in Queensland, Australia.
Young was sentenced on Monday by Justice Christopher Johnstone at the Supreme Court in Townsville after a jury convicted him last week of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
The court imposed a 40-year non-parole period for the murders, meaning Young, who was 63 when sentenced, would not be eligible to apply for parole until he is 99.
He also received a 16-year sentence for the attempted murder of Ross Tighe, who survived after being shot. The sentences will run concurrently.
The convictions stemmed from a shooting at the entrance to Young’s Shannonvale Station, near Bogie, on August 4, 2022.
Those killed were Mervyn Schwarz, 71; his wife, Maree Schwarz, 59; and Maree’s 35-year-old son, Graham Tighe. Graham’s brother, Ross, was wounded in the attack.
Prosecutors told the court that Young had accused the family of stealing his cattle and asked them to meet him at the entrance to his property.
According to the prosecution, Young confronted the group about the cattle before returning to his vehicle, retrieving a rifle and opening fire.
Justice Johnstone described the offences as belonging to the worst category of criminal conduct and increased the standard 30-year non-parole period by 10 years.
The judge said Young had killed three members of the same family and attempted to kill another person with a degree of ruthlessness comparable to killing animals.
Seven victim impact statements were presented during the sentencing hearing, detailing the lasting emotional impact of the killings on the victims’ families.
Lucy Tighe, Graham Tighe’s widow, told the court that their children were only 14 months and three weeks old when their father was killed and continued to struggle with his absence.
Kim Gibson, Maree Schwarz’s daughter, described the deaths of her mother and stepfather as devastating.
Young maintained his innocence throughout the trial, pleading not guilty to all four charges. He told the court he was not responsible for the shooting and had not been at the property gate when the victims were attacked.
His defence also challenged the evidence of Ross Tighe, the only surviving member of the group.
However, after a trial lasting nearly four weeks, the jury convicted Young on all three murder charges and, by an 11-1 majority, found him guilty of attempting to murder Ross.
The killings followed a long-running dispute between Young and his neighbours over cattle. The court also heard that Young had previously served a prison sentence after being convicted of stealing more than 100 cattle.
Young has remained in custody since the 2022 shooting and will continue serving his life sentence, with the 40-year non-parole period keeping him ineligible to seek parole until he reaches 99.
