Family of ‘beautiful dad’ Steven Murphy reveals weeks before his alleged murder at Kudla

‘Beautiful dad’ Steven Murphy was allegedly executed in a shed outside a Kudla home while living on the streets. Now, his family has revealed the weeks leading to his death.

Two young boys have been left without their father after his alleged murder at a Kudla property. Picture: SA Police

The family of a “beautiful dad” allegedly murdered at a Kudla property has revealed what happened in the weeks before his death, saying a simple miscommunication led him down the road to tragedy.

On Tuesday, a court heard that Steven Murphy was executed in cold blood by Keith Yandle, 46, while his 19-year-old son shone a torch on the defenceless father.

Prosecutors alleged that Marco and Keith Yandle armed themselves with the gun and a baseball bat after discovering Mr Murphy was in the shed located 60 metres from their Kudla home.

They further alleged that Keith fired one shot at Mr Murphy as he “lay cowering in a corner” then forced him to stand up, searched him and took all of his personal items.

Keith, 46, and Marco, 19, have yet to plead to one count each of murder.

Steven Murphy has been remembered as a “beautiful dad” who would do anything for his two sons. Picture: Facebook

Mr Murphy’s former partner, Danielle Rogers, asked for privacy and understanding from the public following his death, saying her and her two sons, aged six and 12, had lost a “big part of us”.

Ms Rogers’ sister-in-law, Crystal Rogers, told The Advertiser that the couple was “just like any other”, remembering Mr Murphy as a loving father who would have done anything for his boys.

Mr Murphy was believed to have been squatting in the area in the weeks leading up to his death, but Crystal says neither his family nor Ms Rogers knew he was on the streets.

After meeting when they were just teenagers, Mr Murphy and Ms Rogers had a “loving” on-again, off-again relationship for more than 20 years, Crystal said.

The pair separated for a second time earlier this year, with Mr Murphy moving out of the family’s Kudla home before his disappearance.

Mr Murphy’s family is reeling with grief over the loss of the devoted father. Picture: Facebook

“They were quite young when they got together and did the usual thing – they had kids and were engaged at one stage, but a couple of years ago they decided to separate,” Crystal said.

“They recently got back together and were trying to work through their issues. They still had a lot of love and respect for each other, there wasn’t any anger towards each other.”

Crystal said she believed Mr Murphy, who had experienced homelessness when he was 14 and had battled mental health issues in his adult years, simply wanted to be close to his children.

“He used to talk to my husband a lot about being homeless when he was younger … that’s what he knew and how he’d survived, I think it was just old-school instincts,” she said.

It was only when Danielle caught Mr Murphy in the family home to get food following their break-up that she realised he had been squatting in the area.

After that, she believed he was staying with his stepmother or sister – unknowing that he had returned to the streets, Crystal said.

Mr Murphy loved taking his sons dirt bike riding, fishing and to the beach. Picture: Facebook

“Danni caught him coming into her house to get food (after their break-up) and she said, ‘You can’t do this, you need to go to your stepmum’s,” she said.

“That was the only indication Danni had that he was squatting, then after that we thought that he was there (at his stepmum’s house). We didn’t know he was squatting after that.

“It was only after a few weeks, when we hadn’t heard from him, that we checked with his family to see if he was okay.

“That’s when we thought, ‘Something’s not right here’, and that’s when we went to the police and this whole thing started.

“She feels guilty that she didn’t act sooner, because we all just thought Steve was taking a breather – each side of the family thought he was with the other side of the family.”

Crystal said her sister-in-law has been left “distraught with guilt” over the simple mistake, with her two young children now facing life without their “loving, devoted” father.

The father-of-two’s remains were discovered inside a shed behind a Kudla property. Picture: 7NEWS

“He was a beautiful dad. He loved his boys so much,” she said.

“He took them dirt bike riding, fishing and to the beach a lot, he was very outdoorsy and active with the boys.

“He was the one who’d go out and buy stuff for the kids for Christmas and not put a budget on it, because he just wanted to see their faces.”

Crystal said Ms Rogers and her sons were now reeling with grief, struggling to understand why he chose to live on the streets and the horror that unfolded.

“He would have never harmed a fly. He was the first person to help anybody, but he wasn’t very accepting of help – he was always trying to be positive about turning his mental health around, but he was very proud,” she said.

“We don’t understand why he put himself in danger like that – maybe he just didn’t think something bad could happen.

“He was a wonderful person who made a bad decision.”