An 81-year-old farmer who callously gunned down NSW environment officer Glen Turner during a routine departmental visit has been sentenced to 35 years in jail – with a non-parole period of 24 years – after being convicted of murder.
Ian Turnbull, now 81, used a hunting rifle to murder Glen Turner, 51, who was on public land with a colleague on 29 July 2014, near the farmer’s property at Croppa Creek in the state’s north.
In the NSW supreme court on Thursday, Justice Peter Johnson jailed him for a maximum of 35 years for the murder and for detaining the colleague for advantage.
The judge said Turnbull had built up a strong resentment, even hatred, for Turner and his employer, the Office of Environment and Heritage, over battles about alleged illegal land clearing.
During the 20 minutes the farmer held both officers at gunpoint, he accused Mr Turner of persecuting the Turnbull family, saying “the only way you are going home is in a body bag”.
He shot Turner twice, ignored Robert Strange’s pleas to stop, and fired the third and fatal shot as his victim made a desperate dash for safety.
Turnbull was motivated by “retaliation and revenge” said Justice Johnson who rejected a claim that the farmer was now remorseful.
Noting Turnbull was 79 at the time of the murder, the judge said “courts have made it clear, age is not a licence to commit an offence”.
The fact that Turner was a public official gunned down in the course of his occupation made the murder particularly serious, he added.
He set a minimum of 22 and a maximum of 32 years for the murder, but increased this to 24 and 35 after adding on a component of the term imposed for the offence relating to Strange.
The judge acknowledged that the term most certainly could be considered a “de facto life sentence” given Turnbull’s age, but said the crimes warranted no less of a sentence.
