Brian David MacFarlane murder charge verdict delivered in Port Augusta Supreme Court
A jury has found a veteran miner guilty of the bloody murder of a bitter rival in the state’s Far North, with the pair in a years-long dispute over mining disputes.
Upper Spencer Gulf
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A 62-year-old miner has been found guilty of murder after stabbing a 77-year-old Vietnam War veteran nicknamed ‘King Kong’ over a long-running feud in a remote opal mining community in the state’s Far North.
Brian David MacFarlane, 62, was found guilty by a jury in the Port Augusta Supreme Court today over the death of Paul Tanzer, 77, in Andamooka in 2019, with the pair engaged in a historic dispute involving alleged backyard opal mining.
MacFarlane killed Mr Tanzer by stabbing him twice with a single-bladed pocket knife during a scuffle between the pair, with one stab wound severing an artery in Mr Tanzer’s leg.
The court heard that after the stabbing, Mr MacFarlane was punched, kicked and hit with a star dropper by Mr Tanzer’s son, Leif Tanzer, who was present during the attack.
MacFarlane and Mr Tanzer had known each other for 25 years, having previously worked together, but were engaged in a long-running feud leading up to the murder.
Leif Tanzer alleged in court the feud was over $1m worth of opals stolen from the back of a ute owned by the Tanzer’s by an associate of MacFarlane’s.
The court heard of prior police reports made against Paul Tanzer, including an incident where he allegedly discharged a firearm in front of his house in an act of frustration and an incident where MacFarlane alleged he was shoved and pursued in a vehicle by Mr Tanzer.
Other historical clashes between the pair included MacFarlane lodging a complaint with the Department for Energy and Mining against Mr Tanzer about alleged illegal opal mining on properties in Andamooka.
The court heard Mr Tanzer was known in Andamooka by locals and the police as ‘King Kong’, due to his imposing physical stature.
MacFarlane did not speak during the trial by jury, with his lawyers instead playing a 90-minute police interview he gave following his arrest at Roxby Downs Health Service on November 8, 2019.
“He beat the f**k out of me there,” MacFarlane said, referring to a hand-drawn map he’d provided to SAPOL while giving a statement following his arrest.
“Murder is when you try and kill someone, not when some idiot jumps on top of you and beats the crap out of you.”
During the police interview MacFarlane repeatedly told detectives Wayne Roberts and Benjamin Hall that he wanted to take them to the scene of the altercation to run them through what had happened between him and Mr Tanzer.
Two other men were in the vicinity of the stabbing when it occurred, Mr Tanzer’s son Leif Tanzer and another man Paul Walkington.
MacFarlane’s lawyer, Gilbert Aitken, said his client was “feeling confronted” by the presence of two “much younger and much bigger men.”
After two days of deliberation, the jury panel found MacFarlane unanimously guilty of murdering Paul Tanzer.
MacFarlane’s home detention bail was immediately revoked following the jury verdict.
He will be sentenced later this year.
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