Advertisement

Farmer, 79, ‘simply cracked’: wife

AAP

AAP

The elderly grazier accused of murdering an unarmed environment officer in northern NSW has been refused bail.

Ian Turnbull, who turns 80 next month, is accused of fatally shooting Glen Turner at the back of a property near Moree in July.

Prosecutors said it was the culmination of a land-clearing dispute that had been simmering for years.

Man attacked by shark in WA
• RBA to target housing investors

Turnbull told his wife he “simply cracked”, the NSW Supreme Court heard on Thursday.

But Acting Justice Anthony Blackmore said there was evidence Turnbull had maintained his “vendetta” against the state’s environment authorities and would pose a danger to officials and to the public if released on bail.

“The applicant appears to have deliberately executed an unarmed environment officer by shooting him in the back,” Justice Blackmore said.

“It seems difficult to accept on face value the statement made by the applicant to his wife that he did not mean to kill the accused.”

Among the documents before the court on Thursday was an affidavit written two years ago by Mr Turner and tendered to the state’s Land and Environment Court.

“If you continue to threaten me, police will be involved,” Mr Turner recorded having told the accused in the June 2012 document.

Turnbull is said to have replied: “I’m an old man, I don’t care, I can do anything I want.”

But Defence Barrister Tony Bellanto QC said this was a reference to vegetation clearing.

He said the rifle used to kill Mr Turner was a weapon Turnbull kept in his vehicle for shooting rabbits and vermin.

“It wasn’t as if he went there, went away and got the rifle and went back,” Mr Bellanto said.

He said his client had “snapped”.

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.