Kudla shed murderer Keith Russell Yandle considering appeal against conviction, sentence, wants SA taxpayer funds and top barrister

The defiant Kudla shed murderer wants to go another round with the ‘c--ts’ of the legal system to prove his innocence – and wants your tax dollars to fund him.

Unrepentant Kudla shed murderer Keith Russell Yandle is preparing to challenge his conviction and 32-year minimum sentence – and wants taxpayer funds to do so.

The Advertiser can reveal Yandle, who started his jail term on Friday by calling the Supreme Court “a bunch of c**ts”, has instructed his counsel to investigate appeal options.

For that to proceed, Yandle must first secure funds from the Legal Services Commission because his assets remain frozen, pending a civil court battle in September.

And, in order to convince the Commission his case is arguable, Yandle must provide the opinion of a King’s or Senior Counsel supporting his view of the case.

Keith Yandle. Art: Dave Schaeffer.

Steve Murphy was murdered by Yandle. Picture: SA Police

The Advertiser understands barrister Jane Abbey KC, who acted for Dhirren Randhawa in the Charlie Stevens fatal crash case, will be consulted on Yandle’s behalf.

Ms Abbey is a Flinders University graduate who began practising in 2001, specialising in criminal law and disciplinary matters.

Her defence of Thomas Nichols – one of four men accused of murdering drug dealer Victor Codea – saw him acquitted of that charge, and found guilty instead of manslaughter.

She also secured an acquittal for an SA cheerleading coach accused of sexually abusing her students, and will act for the alleged murderer of pediatrician Dr Michael Yung.

Yandle, 48, is ineligible for parole until April 2050, having been found guilty, at trial, of the murder of defenceless man Steve Murphy.

Mr Murphy had been sleeping rough in the Kudla area in February 2023 and been recorded near Yandle’s shed by his CCTV cameras.

Yandle, the Supreme Court found, became angry at Mr Murphy’s trespassing and formed the intent to “fix him up” by murdering him with an illegal semiautomatic rifle.

Major Crime detectives enter Yandle’s shed at Kudla. Picture: Tim Joy

After cornering Mr Murphy in the shed, Yandle shot him four times – three times after he had already fallen to the ground – and then stood over him, watching him die.

He spent the next several days using a hired Bobcat to dig a pit beneath the shed in which he buried Mr Murphy’s body.

Both the murder and the burial were recorded by the very same CCTV cameras that sparked the incident in the first place.

The crime, and Mr Murphy’

s remains, were discovered only because Yandle’s brother alerted police.

Yandle’s son, Marco, received a suspended sentence for assisting an offender due to his attempts to help cover-up the crime.

He was originally jointly charged with murder, but that allegation was withdrawn as part of a plea bargain in which Yandle was to plead guilty to murder.

Yandle reneged on that deal, however, after Marco’s plea had been entered but failed to convince the jury in his trial that he had acted in self-defence.

Under state law, Yandle has 21 days to lodge his appeal papers.