Brian David MacFarlane claims self defence in Andamooka murder trial

A dispute over alleged stolen opals ended with a bloody fatality in an SA outback mining town, after a weapon was allegedly pulled during a heated altercation.

A long-running dispute between two miners over an alleged $1 million opal heist has resulted in the bloody death of one and the other facing court accused of murder.

Brian David MacFarlane, 62, stands trial this week in the Port Augusta Supreme Court charged with the murder of Paul Tanzer, a 77-year-old Andamooka opal miner.

It is alleged that Mr MacFarlane killed Paul Tanzer by stabbing him twice with a single-bladed pocket knife, with puncture wounds found in the alleged victim’s arm and leg.

The alleged stab wound in Mr Tanzer’s leg severed an artery, causing a fatal loss of blood.

The court heard that after the alleged stabbing, Mr MacFarlane was punched, kicked and hit with a star dropper by Paul Tanzer’s son, Leif Tanzer, who was at the property during the alleged murder.

Brian MacFarlane knew the deceased for decades before his death, the court heard. Picture: Facebook

Crown prosecutor Kos Lesses said Mr MacFarlane stabbed Mr Tanzer, a former Vietnam War veteran nicknamed King Kong, because he was “trying to grab his prized possession”, a mobile phone.

Mr Lesses recounted evidence given by Paul Tanzer’s son, Leif Tanzer, who described seeing Mr MacFarlane “waving his phone in his father’s hand and pushing his phone into his father’s face”.

Mr Lesses told the court Mr Tanzer had “minor criminal history” prior to the incident.

“Paul Tanzer was no saint, he was living what you might call the rough and tumble life of an opal miner in Andamooka,” he said.

Mr Lesses told the court the confrontation preceding the stabbing was a “scuffle and grapple that was hardly the kind of life threatening scenario that required self defence”.

Leif Tanzer, son of Paul Tanzer. Picture: Supplied

Gilbert Aitken, for the defence, asked the court to consider antecedent personal differences between Paul Tanzer and Brian MacFarlane, when weighing up whether the alleged stabbing was an act of self defence.

“Paul Tanzer was a much bigger man, a much heavier man than Brian MacFarlane,” Mr Aitken said.

“It doesn’t require a great leap of faith to connect the dots and see why he was known around the town and to SAPOL as ‘King Kong’.”

Mr Lesses said it was irrelevant whether the distance from the Andamooka property and the nearest hospital contributed to the death of Mr Tanzer.

“A person’s responsibility for homicide does not alter when they kill them in the country rather than in the city.

“Self defence doesn’t even make it to first base in this case.”

The opal mining town of Andamooka, 20 minutes drive east from Roxby Downs. Picture: File

Mr Aitken told the court Mr MacFarlane had previously lodged a complaint with the Department for Energy and Mining against Mr Tanzer in regards to opal mining on properties in Andamooka.

Mr Aitken also criticised evidence given by Paul Tanzer’s son, Leif Tanzer, where he claimed that $1m worth of opals had been stolen from the back of a ute owned by the Tanzer’s.

During his testimony Leif Tanzer accused a person known by Mr MacFarlane, Georgina Jensen, of stealing the opals and used this as justification for allegedly stealing her mobile phone, the court heard.

Mr Aitken told the court the alleged stolen sum of opal had changed in two different accounts from Leif Tanzer.

“You may recall that in his initial statement to police Mr (Leif) Tanzer stated that $700k of opals had been stolen, he then claimed it was $1 million,” Mr Aitken said.

“This figure has grown by a remarkable $300k.

“That so called theft of opals was never reported to the police, who would’ve taken that allegation extremely seriously.”

Leif Tanzer alleged that $1m worth of opals had been stolen from his family. Picture: File

Mr Aitken told the court Leif Tanzer also gave testimony about a drug addict wandering through the fields of Andamooka and dropping the phone belonging to Ms Benson.

The court was played audio recorded by Brian MacFarlane immediately before Paul Tanzer’s death, showing Mr Tanzer confronting Brian MacFarlane about his presence on a property in Andamooka.

“You’ve been told where the boundaries are, why do you persist,” Paul Tanzer said in the recording.

Mr Aitken told the court that following his arrest, Brian MacFarlane elected to speak with SAPOL detectives against his lawyer’s advice while in custody.

“After a time he contacted the detectives and said to them he wanted to tell them his account absent of a lawyer,” Mr Aitken said.

“These are not the actions of a guilty man.”

Andamooka real estate is among the cheapest in Australia. Picture: Brad Fleet

The court heard Brian MacFarlane had done paid work for Paul Tanzer in the past and that the duo had known each other for over 25 years.

Items seized from the alleged crime scene, a property in Andamooka, include a bloodstained tarp, star-dropper and a blood-splattered ute-tray.

A jury verdict is expected to be deliver in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court this week.