Carer’s pathetic apology as he faces life sentence
A “COLD, calculating and callous” Rick Thorburn murdered his 12-year-old foster daughter, stripped her down and left her in the Pimpama River and told his family to maintain a year-long lie.
Crime & Justice
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- Special: Justice For Tiahleigh Part 1
- Special: Justice For Tiahleigh Part 2
- Special: Justice For Tiahleigh Part 3
- Special: Justice For Tiahleigh Part 4
A “COLD, calculating and callous” Rick Thorburn murdered his 12-year-old foster daughter, stripped her down to her torn underwear and left her headfirst in the Pimpama River before telling his family to maintain a year-long lie.
The horrific death of Tiahleigh Palmer and the deception that followed was yesterday detailed in the Supreme Court in Brisbane as Thorburn, 57, was sentenced to life for causing her death.
In a written apology submitted to the court, Thorburn claimed he had “no memory” of Tiahleigh’s murder and insisted he had “never raised a hand” to any child to protect them from the punishment he received as a child.
The court heard Thorburn murdered Tiahleigh on October 29, 2015, after discovering his son Trent, then aged 18, had sexually abused her.
Tiahleigh had been in foster care since the age of seven but was first introduced to the Thorburns in 2014.
After spending a period of months in weekend respite care, she moved in with the family permanently in January 2015.
“You murdered this defenceless child who relied upon you for protection – protection she could not receive from her own mother – and you did so in order to save one of your own children from the consequences of his actions,” Justice David Boddice said during sentencing.
The court heard that on the night of the murder, Thorburn was left alone with Tiahleigh after his wife went to talk to a relative who had also discovered Trent’s conduct.
“Concern was also expressed … that the child’s complaints of pain in her stomach, earlier that afternoon, might be consistent with pregnancy,” Justice Boddice said.
When Julene, Trent and other son Josh arrived home around 10pm, they found Thorburn in the lounge room.
“It is all taken care of,” he told them before adding that Tiahleigh “is no longer with us”.
Thorburn told them they would all need to act as though nothing had happened the following day and that he would drive the route to Tiahleigh’s school as normal.
The next evening, Thorburn left the house, returning at 11pm “covered in dirt”. He told his family, “it’s done”.
“What you had done,” Justice Boddice said, “was take the child’s body to a secluded area near a river bank in Pimpama. You left her there, largely unclothed with her head and arms partially submerged. You showed no respect for her, even in death.”
She was discovered by a trio of fishermen six days later.
The court heard an autopsy on Tiahleigh’s badly decomposed body determined no cause of death.
As the months went on, the Thorburn family repeatedly lied to police, playing the part of concerned caregivers.
Eventually, when the Crime and Corruption Commission became involved in the investigation, the family maintained those lies – even in secret coercive hearings.
Investigators were helped by an anonymous call made to Crime Stoppers which tipped them off to Trent’s conduct and the “family meeting” that had followed.
“The falsity of your story was only detected as a consequence of conversations recorded pursuant to the electronic surveillance devices in your home over a period of about one month,” Justice Boddice said.
“Those recordings included statements by you in which you required the family to stick to that story, and to ensure nothing was said of your son’s relationship with the child.
“The recordings had you coaching others as to what they should say.”
All four family members were arrested on September 20, 2016, with Julene and Josh agreeing to give evidence against Thorburn.
Justice Boddice said Thorburn’s actions had been “cold, calculating and callous” and his tough upbringing and history with depression could never excuse his “horrendous actions”.
Following the hearing, homicide detective Inspector Damien Hansen described Thorburn as a “very good liar” who convinced investigators that he was a concerned parent with a runaway child.
“He was always co-operative with us,” he said.
“He had a story, he stuck to it. The family stuck to it. They were quite plausible.”
But Insp Hansen said that, months later, when the family was brought back into the frame, Thorburn’s behaviour became “more and more erratic”.
“We just knew he was panicking,” he said.
“He did not know Julene and Josh were going to give evidence or give a statement but he certainly was panicking about their movements.”
Just days before their arrest, listening devices captured Julene saying to Josh: “Dad made the decision to go down that path, unfortunately, and we are going to have to live with it.”
Two days later, a tense conversation between Thorburn and his wife was recorded.
“No, but don’t you dare tell anyone ever, no matter what, that’s when things f… up. You will go to jail. Don’t say anything, ever, you got it? You’re going to, aren’t you?” he was heard saying.
Julene responded: “No, I’m not, but things can’t go on like this. It’s not fair on everyone.”
She suggested Thorburn “come clean” to their lawyer.
In another recording, Julene is heard saying to a relative: “They were looking for her school uniform and her bag. Well, were we that stupid that we were going to bury it in our backyard?”
Detective Superintendent Kerry Johnson said Thorburn had betrayed the person he had vowed to protect.
“It is the ultimate act of betrayal,” he said.
“They put their hands up as foster parents to love and care for her, provide for her as one of their own.
“They betrayed that trust. (It was) the ultimate act of betrayal.”
Supt Johnson said blame also lay with the other family members, who also failed to protect Tiahleigh.
“They had an obligation,” Supt Johnson said.
“Evil exists when good men do nothing. They all had an opportunity to stop this and prevent this. And they didn’t.”
Thorburn will be eligible for parole in September 2036.
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