Three men found guilty of chilling Queensland toolbox double murder case

7NEWS5 hours ago

Three men accused of killing two people by drowning them in a toolbox have been found guilty of murder.
Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, were killed at Kingston in Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016.
Police divers found their bodies two weeks later locked in the toolbox submerged in Scrubby Creek.
Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp have stood trial in Queensland 's Supreme Court over the past two weeks after pleading not guilty to two counts each of murder.
The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am on Wednesday.
The trio are set to be sentenced at a later date.
None of the accused elected to testify in their own defence.
The jury previously heard evidence that the victims could have been alive when the toolbox was thrown into the water and weighed down with concrete.
Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane previously told the jury he would allege Daniels and Taiao were liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox at a Kingston unit in the hours before their deaths.
Thrupp either threw the toolbox into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Crane said.
Thrupp's defence barrister, Jessica Goldie, previously said other men, including Taiao or a prosecution witness, could have been a passenger in a utility vehicle that took the toolbox containing Breton and Triscaru to Scrubby Creek, rather than her client.
Goldie said a claim by a witness that her client confessed to him he shot Breton and Triscaru in the head was a 'complete fabrication' and was contradicted by forensic evidence.
Taiao's defence barrister, Lars Falcongreen, told the jury a 'star witness' for the prosecution had given evidence that showed his client had no knowledge of any plan to kill.
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.

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‘Had to wait': TikToker's horror ING ordeal

News.com.au

6 minutes ago

News.com.au

‘Had to wait': TikToker's horror ING ordeal

A Melbourne woman was left without money for two days after ING suspended her account for what they deemed to be 'suspicious activity'. In an ordeal that has left her switching banks, Katie McMaster posted to TikTok after being left without access to her card and unable to withdraw money due to a flag on her account. She said she was initially sent an email on Tuesday, telling her that her accounts had been suspended and she needed to verify her identity. Ms McMaster called ING to verify the email was legit, where she was told she would need to wait up to two days for the fraud team to get back to her. 'They said I need to wait for the fraud team to contact me. I can't speak to them, they wouldn't transfer me to them, I had to wait for them to email me,' she said in the video. After two days – and calling ING multiple times – Ms McMaster finally had her accounts unsuspended. She said the fraud team told her there was just 'one person' managing the fraud inbox. Speaking to Ms McMaster said the 'suspicious activity' turned out to be a transfer with her friend for payment of a Usher ticket. 'I don't know if my TikTok helped, but suddenly, they moved pretty quickly,' she said. Ms McMaster said the verification process as a whole did not feel secure. 'They're sending you emails but then when you ring them and you're on hold, they say ING will never ask you to provide verification via email,' she said. She also said she did not have the option to go into a branch, as there are none in Melbourne. 'It was frustrating just waiting, I probably wouldn't have minded so much if they kept me in the loop,' she said. Ms McMaster said she is now moving banks after being with ING for more than a decade due to the ordeal, with many users on TikTok commenting about similar experiences. A spokeswoman for ING said the bank does place temporary 'holds' on an account if the bank detects 'suspicious transactions'. 'This often involves temporarily placing a hold on a customer's account until we can confirm the transactions with the customer,' she said. 'We recognise that temporarily pausing activity on an account can impact customers, so we always check they have access to essential funds, ensuring they are not placed in financial hardship.'