The colleague of slain environment officer Glen Turner has told how he pleaded in vain with gunman Ian Turnbull to put down his gun and let him seek medical help.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
On Thursday Robert Strange told the NSW Supreme Court he and Mr Turner had stopped outside a property in Croppa Creek, near Moree, to take photographic evidence of stacks of burning vegetation, on the afternoon of July 29, 2014.
Mr Strange said a car pulled up behind them and Mr Turnbull, 81, got out and pointed a rifle at Mr Turner.
"I heard a small fire and I saw that Glen went down on one knee and got back to this feet and said 'Ian, what are you doing?'," Mr Strange told the jury.
"Then another shot fired and hit Glen in the upper left chest area."
Mr Strange, who was a sworn police officer with Queensland and Australian Federal Police for 13 years before joining various state government environment departments, said he and Mr Turner tried to get back into their car to get away, but Mr Turnbull continued to train the gun on them.
"I said, 'sir, put the gun down, what are you doing?'," Mr Strange said.
Mr Turnbull allegedly told him to get rid of his digital camera and said, "No, you've ruined the Turnbulls, you're continually persecuting us, the only way you are going home is in a body bag."
Mr Strange said he was the one trying to speak to Mr Turnbull but he assumed the body bag threat was directed at Mr Turner.
"I asked him to put the firearm down, that he had hurt Glen and I needed to get Glen some help; he had a young family and we needed to get out of there," Mr Strange told the jury.
He said Mr Turnbull replied: "No, no, you've ruined the Turnbulls, we're in a drought, you're constantly persecuting us, you've got planes flying over here".
"He wasn't in any mood to let me get to the vehicle or to let Glen go," Mr Strange said.
"I attempted to get closer [to the drivers seat of the car] several times but he caught me every time moving forward and aimed the weapon in my direction and told me to get back or I'd get one in the heart."
He said for about 20 minutes Mr Turner was crouched down on one side of the car while Mr Turnbull was on the other. Every time Mr Turnbull moved, Mr Strange would tell Glen to move the opposite way.
At some stage, Mr Turner made his way to the rear of the car and activated his personal emergency response beacon.
Mr Turnbull fired a further two shots through the car, which didn't hit anyone, and Mr Strange again tried pleading with him.
"I said, 'we're unarmed, we are not here to hurt you' but Mr Turnbull kept saying you've sent us bankrupt and that we were there persecuting that family," Mr Strange told the court.
He broke down as he recalled how Mr Turner "pleaded" with him to get him out.
"I said, 'Glen I have to be fit to get us out."
Earlier on Thursday Mr Strange said he and Mr Turner had made good time travelling from their office in Tamworth and decided to drive past the properties in Croppa Creek so Mr Strange could familiarise himself with the area before the inspections scheduled for the next day.
Mr Turnbull has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter on the grounds of substantial impairment due to mental illness. The Crown has not accepted the plea.
The trial before Justice Peter Johnson continues.