Semiautomatic rifle handed to Adelaide jury as Keith Russell Yandle stands trial for murder of Steven Murphy in Kudla shed
Jurors needed to handle an alleged murder weapon for themselves to properly understand what happened in a Kudla cannabis shed, an Adelaide court has heard.
Police & Courts
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A jury has held and handled the semiautomatic rifle that ended the life of Kudla shooting victim Steven Murphy – and watched his final moments captured on infra-red CCTV.
On Thursday, prosecutors tendered Keith Russell Yandle’s 935mm long, 2.96kg Ruger rifle – equipped with nine-time zoom crosshair scope, torch and laser pointer – in the Supreme Court.
They asked the weapon be shown to the eight women and four men in the jury but Bill Boucaut KC, for Yandle, asked it be physically handed to them.
“I would like the jury to understand its weight … I know that might be confronting,” he said.
Justice Anne Bampton assured jurors SA Police had ensured the weapon was “completely inoperable”, “safe” and “not a danger to anyone in this room” before it was brought to court.
Jurors heard expert forensic evidence that the rifle would fire if between 2kg and 2.1kg of pressure was applied to its trigger.
They were also told that, on the night Mr Murphy was killed, the firearm was “operating correctly in all respects” and without mechanical defect.
“Rough handling”, they were told, would “not cause this firearm to discharge”.
Late on Thursday, the jury was shown CCTV footage from Yandle’s shed, reconstructed by SA Police, that shows the events of that night.
The gallery of the courtroom was closed, to the public and media, while the video was shown at the request of prosecutor Melissa Wilkinson.
Yandle, 48, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Mr Murphy on February 19, 2023, but guilty to the lesser change of manslaughter.
He has also pleaded guilty to charges arising from firearms, ammunition and the destruction of Mr Murphy’s remains.
Prosecutors did not accept Yandle’s manslaughter plea, arguing his actions in his cannabis shed, on that night, amount to murder.
They have alleged Yandle found Mr Murphy and, while he was “cowering”, shot him four times – once in the heart, and three times after he fell to the floor.
They have further alleged he stood over Mr Murphy and watched him die, then stepped on his hands to check he had passed before burying him underneath the shed.
On Thursday, jurors were shown a series of photos of Yandle’s property and shed.
Giving evidence, SA Police Sergeant Steven Gresch said Mr Murphy’s body was found 2.1m below ground level, underneath a dirt ramp that led to a pit in the shed floor.
He said police had used mechanical excavators until Mr Murphy’s left hand was exhumed, after which they used hand tools to uncover his body.
“The body was laying on its back, legs extended straight, with its right arm straight and near parallel to the torso,” he said.
“The left arm was also straight but on an approximately 45 degree angle from the body.
“The body was wearing shorts (and) a dark-coloured jumper … it was pulled up to expose part of the torso.”
The trial continues.
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