LISTED: Convicted killers incarcerated at Borallon jail
The acts of these notorious killers ripped apart the lives of countless Queensland families and secured them a lengthy stay at Borallon prison. SEE THE LIST
Police & Courts
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Borallon jail is home to some of Queensland’s most notorious criminals, many now serving out life sentences for their crimes. Some matters are subject to appeal.
Fifteen minutes from the heart of Ipswich, Borallon jail has seen an influx of new inmates in recent years, as prisoner numbers have exploded across the state.
The individuals on this list include notorious killers convicted of either murder or manslaughter in Queensland courts.
In Queensland, murder convictions carry an automatic sentence of life imprisonment, meaning they must spend at least 20 years behind bars before they are eligible to apply for parole.
Life imprisonment can also be imposed for manslaughter, but for that charge the term “life” carries a lesser weight of 15 years.
Manslaughter sentencing can vary greatly depending on the specific circumstances of the case, the defendant’s background, and the extent of their involvement.
Meet 14 of the most notorious inmates currently incarcerated at Borallon jail:
NATHAN JOHN CAULFIELD
Nathan John Caulfield was sentenced to life imprisonment last September for murdering 22-year-old Michael Zanco.
Mr Zanco died after being shot in the head during a violent home invasion in March 2020.
Caulfield was found guilty of the murder at trial, alongside Trent Edward Dyhrberg and Kalabe John Steven Saurine.
The Brisbane Supreme Court heard the three defendants had been partying at a Gympie pub with alcohol and ice prior to the murder.
When they ran out of drugs, they decided to steal from a known drug dealer – who wasn’t home when they arrived.
Instead, the trio found Mr Zanco on the couch eating fish and chips, and Caulfield shot him in the head with a sawn-off rifle, the court heard.
Justice Peter Davis said the crime showed “yet again, the damage done by drugs”.
Mr Zanco’s mother told the court that the defendants may not have succeeded in stealing drugs or money, but that they had stolen her firstborn son.
“You all have caused such horrendous unnecessary pain and hurt and I ask you again, for what?”
PAUL JOHN CONOLEY
Paul John Conoley murdered grandfather Steven Church in a savage street bashing in April 2019.
Mr Church crossed paths with Conoley, who had been homeless, as he went to buy cigarettes in Woodridge in the early morning.
The Brisbane Supreme Court was told that after a brief conversation, Conoley punched and kicked Mr Church and stomped on his head as he fell to the ground.
Witnesses recounted seeing Conoley unsuccessfully attempting to stuff Mr Church’s body into a bin.
Body-worn camera footage captured Conoley smiling and chuckling as he was handcuffed by police that same day.
“I’m the murder express, I’m being detained,” he was heard saying to police.
Conoley was sentenced to life imprisonment last February after pleading guilty to the murder.
The court heard Conoley had a history of psychotic disturbances and drug addiction.
Supreme Court Justice Declan Kelly said Conoley had shown “no remorse” for the “random, unprovoked, cowardly and savage” attack.
After the sentence, Mr Church’s brother Christian told the media that he had felt “a lot of anger” being in Conoley’s presence, and that no sentence could replace his brother’s life.
MARK STEPHEN CRUMP
Mark Stephen Crump was sentenced to life behind bars in 2019 alongside Trevor Spencer for the murder of Gary Ryan.
The two men had driven 1000km to ambush the Queensland father in August 2016, the Brisbane Supreme Court heard at their trial.
They had stabbed Mr Ryan with swords and left him to bleed to death at his home in Mundubbera, near Bundaberg.
Justice Martin Burns said Crump was the prime mover behind the attack, motivated by anger towards Mr Ryan for reporting alleged sexual misconduct against a woman.
“And in particular, to suppress the furthering of the complaint she’d made to the police,” Justice Burns said.
“Such base wickedness is not frequently seen by these courts.”
Mr Ryan’s mother and daughter had found him lying in a pool of his own blood but still alive, the court heard.
“I said to Gary ‘who did this to you son?’ And Gary’s response to me was ‘I’m dying mum’,” mother Janet Ferguson wrote in her victim impact statement.
KYNAN WATEGO DEVENNA
Former soldier Kynan Watego Devenna found guilty in 2015 of the “premeditated and cold-blooded” murder of his ex-partner Sarahjane Dower.
Ms Dower, 26, was stabbed twice in the neck at Devenna’s mother’s house in Ayr on September 1, 2012.
It took a Townsville jury just two-and-a-half hours to find Devenna guilty of murder after a trial in 2015.
Devenna had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but the prosecution had pressed for the more serious charge.
Crown prosecutor Jacob Robson recited Devenna’s earlier confession to the jury: “I wanted her dead.”
“His confession revealed a plan of premeditated and cold blooded murder,” he said.
“He wanted more time with the children so he killed their mother.”
Devenna was sentenced to the mandatory life in prison, and is now incarcerated at Borallon.
IAN ROBERT HUNTER
Former Raceview resident Ian Robert Hunter is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife of 37 years.
Police found the body of Vicki Ann Hunter in the couple’s garage in May 2010 – along with the metal bar Hunter had used to bludgeon her to death.
Hunter was found guilty after a two-week trial in 2012.
Despite the verdict, Hunter maintained that he was not guilty.
He claimed an intruder had assaulted him and stolen money on the night his wife was killed.
Hunter attempted to appeal his conviction back in 2012, but was unsuccessful and is still incarcerated at Borallon today.
RICHARD DUDLEY KELSEY
Richard Dudley Kelsey faced trial earlier this year for the murder of his wife Gail.
Mrs Kelsey, 67, was found shot dead at their Chambers Flat home in November 2019.
Richard Kelsey pleaded guilty to her manslaughter, but the prosecution pushed to convict him of murder.
The court heard Kelsey had “just had a gutful” of his wife after their relationship soured.
He didn’t deny that he’d shot his wife, but said he hadn’t intended to kill her.
Kelsey was found guilty of the murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
BRANDON PETER MACGOWAN
The man who murdered a Mount Isa couple and dumped their bodies in a Cairns bushland now spends his days behind bars in Ipswich.
Brandon Peter MacGowan was found guilty in 2014 of murdering Scott Maitland and Cindy Masonwells in 2012.
The court heard at the time MacGowan committed the execution-style double murder to avoid paying the $14,000 debt he owed them.
Their bodies were found in a dense rainforest west of Cairns, nearly two weeks after they were killed.
MacGowan was initially sentenced to a minimum 30 years behind bars, but later had his sentence reduced to a minimum of 24 years.
ANTONY DANIEL MORSEU
Antony Daniel Morseu faced Mackay Supreme Court in 2013 for the stabbing murder of his former girlfriend Amanda Kay Sauney, 25.
Ms Sauney was stabbed multiple times at her street in Andergrove, Mackay, in December 2010.
The court heard how Morseu had chased her from house to house, stabbing her a total of six times fatally in the neck.
Morseu had then slit his own throat, and asked officers to “let me die”.
He and Ms Sauney had been in a relationship until a few weeks before her death, at which time Ms Sauney had started a relationship with Morseu’s nephew, the court heard.
The night before her murder, Morseu had told members of Ms Sauney’s family that he was “going to kill her” and he didn’t care if he went to prison.
Morseu was jailed for life after pleading guilty to the murder.
The court heard the scar left from his suicide attempt was a “constant reminder of that (day) and the terrible thing he has done”.
Amanda’s sister Colleen Sauney said Morseu’s life sentence healed a lot of pain for the family, who could finally “move on with (their) lives”.
LACHLAN PAUL SOPER-LAGAS
Lachlan Paul Soper-Lagas was sentenced to eight years jail last September over the death of 19-year-old Cian English.
Mr English was bashed, stabbed and pursued onto a Surfers Paradise balcony before he fell to his death in May, 2020.
The Brisbane Supreme Court heard Mr English had been falsely accused of stealing drugs after partying that night with Soper-Lagas, alongside co-offenders Jason Ryan Knowles and Hayden Paul Kratzmann.
Video of the crime circulated on social media afterwards, in what Chief Justice Helen Bowskill labelled a “revolting display of callousness”.
The three defendants were each initially charged with murder, but the prosecution accepted their guilty pleas to the lesser charge of manslaughter.
Knowles and Kratzmann were each sentenced to nine-and-a-half years in prison, with parole eligibility after six years.
Soper-Lagas received eight years, with parole eligibility in March 2026, as his culpability was deemed to be lesser.
Mother Siobhan English told the court she “couldn’t bear” to think about how her son had died.
“I struggle to contemplate what he endured in his last moments … thinking about it destroys a little bit of me every time and will haunt me for the rest of my life,” she said.
CHRISTOPHER JAMES SWAN
Christopher James Swan was found guilty at two trials of murdering his flatmate Amanda Quirk at their Booval, Ipswich, home.
Ms Quirk’s body was found dumped in the New South Wales country town Drake in 2010, 230km from where Swan had brutally bashed her to death.
The Brisbane Supreme Court heard that Swan, 40 at the time of conviction, had spent most of his 30s in jail and had been released from jail just nine weeks before Ms Quirk’s death.
Swan received a life sentence for the murder, which he is now serving at Borallon.
After the second guilty verdict, Ms Quirk’s sister Lisa said they could “finally set her free”.
“I miss my sister deeply … My family will live with this forever,” she said.
TYSON JOHN TAYLOR
Tyson John Taylor was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2016 for the execution-style murder of rugby league referee Tony McGrath.
Mr McGrath was shot at close range in the garage of his Woolloongabba house in May, 2013.
The Brisbane Supreme Court heard that Taylor had previously made a botched attempt to kill Mr McGrath in a house fire in October, 2012.
Both men had been romantically linked to prostitute Susan Ellen Stewart, who the court heard had wrongly believed she would inherit Mr McGrath’s estate.
Ms Stewart was originally charged with murder, but the charge was dropped after Taylor’s trial.
Mr McGrath’s sister, Carmel Waugh, told the court 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.
JYE SEBASTIAN WEBB-ITALIA & KYLE JACK WEBB
Jye Sebastian Webb-Italia was found guilty earlier this year of the murder of Raymond Harris.
The 27-year-old father was stabbed by Webb-Italia in the stomach at Surfers Paradise’s Cavill Mall on September 23, 2020.
The injury sliced Mr Harris’s liver and stomach – causing him to die within minutes.
Webb-Italia, who had been 18 at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to manslaughter four years later – but the prosecution took him to trial for murder.
His older brother Kyle Jack Webb was found guilty of manslaughter, but not guilty of murder in relation to the same incident.
A third co-accused Jarod James Miller was found not guilty of murder or manslaughter.
Webb-Italia was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, while his brother was sentenced to nine years’ jail for manslaughter.
Both brothers are now incarcerated together at Borallon.
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