AN ELDERLY farmer is destined to die in jail for the prolonged and terrifying ordeal he subjected an environmental officer to, before he gunned him down in 2014.
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Ian Robert Turnbull simply nodded once yesterday morning when he was sentenced to a maximum of 35 years for the murder of Glen Turner near Moree, two years ago. Turnbull showed no emotion in the NSW Supreme Court in Sydney, and simply turned and waved to his wife, who was seated in the court, before he appeared to talk to corrective officers as he was led away.
Justice Peter Johnson said a minimum sentence of 24 years was needed because Mr Turner, a compliance officer with the Office of Environment and Heritage, was a public official carrying out his duties when he was fired upon on Talga Ln at Croppa Creek in the early evening of July 29, 2014.
“The courts have made clear that age is not a licence to commit an offence,” he said in sentencing.
“While the age of the offender needs to be taken into account, this cannot give rise to the expectation that the elderly can offend with relative impunity.”
The de facto life sentence and tributes to Mr Turner in court, who was described by Justice Johnson as “diligent and tenacious” in his duties, rang true for his grieving wife, Alison McKenzie, and their children, Alexandra and Jack.
Ms McKenzie said “his words meant so much” and went far beyond any sentence they had expected.
“It’s the end of a long road for us, it’ll never bring Glen back, so no matter what sentence was given, it’s never going to change what happened and I’m just glad justice has prevailed,” she said outside court.
“I’ve grown used to Glen not being around, but the circumstances in which it happened I will never ever be able to accept.”
Turnbull used a hunting rifle and fired several shots at Mr Turner, as he chased him around a car on the remote road reserve, telling him the only way he was leaving “was in a body bag”.
He held Mr Strange hostage at gunpoint as he shot Mr Turner in the neck and chest and, after more than 20 minutes, fired the fatal shot into the 51-year-old OEH officer’s back.
Turnbull then left and went home to see he wife one last time before he was arrested by Barwon police.
He was found guilty of murder by a jury after a five week trial and pleaded guilty to the detaining for advantage, which the court heard was triggered at his frustration over illegal land clearing prosecutions by the OEH.
Justice Johnson said he did not accept Turnbull had shown genuine remorse, but acted in “retaliation or revenge” as he hunted down Mr Turner, killing him in front of Mr Strange.
“The victim impact statement of Mr Strange confirms the terrifying and shattering nature of the ordeal to which he was subjected at the hands of the offender on 29 July, 2014,” he said.
“Mr Strange did everything he could to try and save Mr Turner and to bring the incident to an end.”
The sentence means Turnbull would not be eligible for parole until 2038, but Justice Johnson accepted he would die in prison before then.
He said despite Turnbull’s age, the sentence needed to reflect the seriousness of the murder, and not give substance to Turnbull’s comments made in 2012, to the effect, “I’m an old man. What are they going to do to me?”
Turnbull’s son, Grant Turnbull, said his father was “coping” with the sentence before calling for the laws surrounding land clearing to be changed.