Brisbane jury finds Tyson Taylor guilt of murder, attempted murder of Tony McGrath

UPDATE: A man has been found guilty, and sentenced, over the execution-style murder of Brisbane rugby league referee Tony McGrath.

Tony McGrath was murdered by Tyson Taylor in his Woolloongabba home in May 2013.

TYSON Taylor has been found guilty of the execution-style murder of rugby league referee Tony McGrath and of his attempted murder in a house fire months earlier.

A jury has delivered its verdict against Taylor, 41, finding he killed Mr McGrath in the garage of his Woolloongabba house in May 2013 by shooting him at close range.

He was also found guilty of attempted murder in which Taylor botched an attempt to kill him a house fire in October 2012.

Justice Martin Burns sentenced Taylor to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years’ jail for attempted murder.

He’ll have to serve 22 years behind bars before being eligible for parole.

Taylor had pleaded not guilty to both charges in the Supreme Court in Brisbane.

Crown Prosecutor Vicki Loury had told the courts that Mr McGrath, 57, was killed out of a prostitute’s “pure greed” and Taylor was her “puppet”.

Taylor loved prostitute Susan Stewart who had an interest in a brothel at Tweed Heads and Mr McGrath also believed he was engaged to her, the court was told.

Mr McGrath, who was the president of the Brisbane Rugby League Referees Association, gave Ms Stewart $550,000 during their relationship.

The Crown alleges Ms Stewart manipulated both men and wrongly believed she was to inherit Mr McGrath’s estate after she faked a pregnancy and he changed his will.

The will was unsigned.

Recordings of Taylor confessing to the murder and attempted murder during a covert police operation were played to the court.

Taylor believed he was meeting the national boss of a criminal syndicate in the penthouse suite of the Stamford Plaza in February 2014, following the operation in which he did “jobs” for the group.

He said he shot Mr McGrath because he was a paedophile. Police have told the court the allegation is untrue.

Taylor confessed to other covert police to giving Ms Stewart the drug fantasy or GHB in October 2012 to put into Mr McGrath’s drink.

He said when nothing happened he said he set Mr McGrath’s house on fire, using a heater to light the bedroom curtains.

Two of Taylor’s friends also told the court he had confessed to the murder.

Taylor took to the witness stand during the trial and said he feared for his life when he confessed to the undercover officer posing as a crime boss.

He said he was “lucky” in getting details about the murder correct in the confessions.

But Ms Loury said Taylor knew of two particular details “which can have only be known by the killer”.

“That was that he was shot between the eyes and the other thing was that a neighbour walked out of the house to the car at the time it was happening,” she said.

Barrister Peter Nolan, for Taylor, had questioned if Taylor’s confession to police was reliable and said officers had applied pressure.

He said without the covert police confessions “there is nothing”.

He said there was no fingerprints, no DNA or any spent rounds from the shooting.

The jury returned just after 4.15pm today.

Tony McGrath’s sister Carmel Waugh read a victim impact statement following the jury’s finding, saying her brother had always been there for her. “I’ve been deprived of my brother.”

After the verdict, Mr McGrath’s sister, Carmel Waugh, read out a victim impact statement describing the profound affect his death has had on her life.

She told the court how he had been there for her on her wedding day, when they lost their parents and when she lost her husband.

“Tony was my brother, confidant, friend, financial advisor and he believed in me,” she told the court.

Mrs Waugh said Taylor had killed a man whose only crime was falling in love with the wrong woman.

“Tony has been deprived of life and I have been deprived of my brother,” she said.