Three men have been found guilty of murder for drowning two people in a toolbox. The victims, Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, were killed in Kingston, Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016.
Police divers found their bodies two weeks later locked in the toolbox submerged in Scrubby Creek.
During the trial, a witness’s claim that one of the accused confessed to shooting the victims in the head was dismissed as a fabrication. This claim was contradicted by forensic evidence presented in court.
Defense barrister Lars Falcongreen argued that a key prosecution witness testified that his client was not aware of any plan to commit murder. This undermines the prosecution’s case against one of the accused, Taiao.
Daniels’ defence barrister John Fraser said his client had taken part in what he thought was a “boot ride”, which was a common punishment in drug-dealing circles involving detaining people to scare them.
The trio faced a retrial this month after the Court of Appeal in July 2024 set aside murder convictions for Thrupp, Taiao and Daniels and ordered that they receive new trials.
In 2021, Thrupp, Taiao and Daniels were each found guilty of two counts of murder.
The 2024 Court of Appeal decision ruled there had been a miscarriage of justice on grounds including how the jury was directed in relation to the offences of murder.
However, the trio’s appeal against torture charges, relating to their assaults on Breton and Triscaru, was dismissed.
