House fire victim Mark Gallagher’s grandson was killed by dog at same home

The fatal mauling of a child and his vengeful father’s attempt to kill the dog’s owners has haunted a Qld community for 10 years. Now, one of those owners and his pets have been found dead in their blackened home.

House fire victim Mark Gallagher’s grandson was killed by dog at same home. The property was also the scene of an attempted murder.

A child mauled to death by a family pet in his grandfather’s yard.

The boy’s father later jailed for the violent attempted murder against the grandfather, who was his stepfather, and his own mother out of revenge.

Now, a horrific fire has claimed the life of that same grandfather Mark Gallagher and his two dogs.

These are the chilling details that make up the dark history of an old Queenslander that sits at the end of a quiet East Mackay street.

Mr Gallagher and his then partner Sonia Strachan bought the home at 9 Grant St in 2001.

Korbin Sprott died after he was attacked by a dog in 2013. Photo Contributed

Twelve years later it was the scene of a terrible tragedy that rocked the Mackay region.

On October 26, 2013 little Korbin Sprott had been spending time with his grandparents Ms Strachan and Mr Gallagher at their home when he was mauled to death by one of the family pets, a German Shepherd.

The dog had bit the three year old’s neck, puncturing an artery and causing massive blood loss. He died in hospital two days later.

Google Maps image of 9 Grant St from February 2015.

The tragedy sent ripple waves throughout the community as everyone first prayed for, then cried over little Korbin.

It also set in motion what would become a vicious beating of Mr Gallagher and Ms Strachan by her son James Stuart Sprott, Korbin’s father.

On November 8, loved ones gathered to farewell Korbin at a moving service at City Funeral Services Chapel and it was here Ms Strachan sat behind her grieving son and called him “a dog and useless c--t”, a court heard.

James Sprott, father of Korbin.

The killer dog was destroyed but it was reported Ms Strachan bought another German Shepherd and named it after Korbin’s half brother Hunter.

In 2017 Sprott decided to kill the couple.

On April 11 he broke into their home, the same location where his son died, and brutally bashed the pair including stamping on Mr Gallagher’s head repeatedly while he was on the floor.

The body of Mark Gallagher, 59, was found in the ruins of a two-storey home gutted by fire on August 19.

Sprott also repeatedly lifted his mother by the throat and threw her on the floor, and as she begged him not to hit her he slammed a pot plant in her face.

She managed to get out of the house and called out “help me, he’s going to kill me”, prompting a neighbour to come to the rescue.

In 2018, Sprott pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted murder and he was jailed for 9.5 years.

The body of Mark Gallagher, 59, and his two dogs were found dead inside his East Mackay home the day after the property was gutter by a horror fire. Picture: Janessa Ekert

The Attorney-General tried arguing the sentence was manifestly inadequate but the penalty was upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Sprott was eligible to apply for parole in October 2021 and a Queensland Corrective Services search for prisoner’s database indicates there is currently no one with that name still custody.

Now, 10 years after Korbin’s death, the home is once again the scene of an investigation after a fire ripped through the property on August 19, 2023.

It is understood Mr Gallagher’s body was found on the top level of the property. Picture: Janessa Ekert

There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing or involvement on Sprott’s part.

And the following day while sifting through the ruined two-storey home investigators discovered the bodies of 59-year-old Mr Gallagher and his two dogs.

The fire has left an eerie feeling among those who live on the short street.

Police stood guard at the home for 3.5 days after a fire ripped through.

Since Sunday, Mackay detectives have quietly conducted an investigation into the blaze and Mr Gallagher’s death.

Neighbours noticed the police cars and officers standing guard at the scene for 3.5 days while scientific officers combed through the home.

On August 23 Mackay Criminal Investigation Branch Officer in Charge Detective Senior Sergeant Chris Eaton confirmed police were investigating the fatal fire.

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. Police have not indicated that the fire is suspicious.

Police have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.