Queanbeyan servo murderer jailed for 13 years over Kempsey jail guard kidnapping

A man in jail for the bloody ISIS-inspired killing of a service station worker will spend at least another eight years behind bars for holding a prison guard hostage and torturing him for nearly six hours.

DM was in jail serving a 27-year sentence for the ISIS-inspired murder of service station worker Zeeshan Akbar. Picture: Supplied

A man sentenced to 27 years in jail for the bloody ISIS-inspired killing of a service station worker at Queanbeyan when he was a teenager will spend at least another eight years behind bars after admitting to holding a prison guard hostage and torturing him for nearly six hours.

The now-22-year-old, who can legally be known only by the initials DM, joined fellow prisoner Noel Barrett in detaining correctional officer Nathan Fuller inside a locked room at Kempsey jail on December 19, 2020 following a dispute over access to the prescription drug buprenorphine.

Shocking details of Mr Fuller’s ordeal, including how he was repeatedly bashed, assaulted with weapons and had chemicals poured on his body, were aired in the Downing Centre District Court on Friday as both men appeared in person for sentence, flanked by a heavy contingent of burly corrective services guards.

The court heard DM and Barrett were being housed in a pod with 33 other prisoners when the duo became agitated that they were not on the list of inmates to receive “bupe” (buprenorphine) injections, which are used to treat opioid withdrawal.

The court heard the pair approached Mr Fuller and his colleague Matthew Lansdowne under the guise of asking them to open up the cleaning room to use equipment, but instead jumped the two officers, pushing them inside an office.

Corrections officer Nathan Fuller leaving Downing Centre District Court on Friday. Picture: Tim Hunter

Mr Lansdowne was able to sound the duress alarm and escape after a brief wrestle with Barrett, but Mr Fuller was overpowered by DM, who forced him to kneel while holding a jail-made shiv to his neck.

“I’ll f..king stab him, I’ll f..king kill him, get the f..k out,” DM yelled at other officers who attempted to come to Mr Fuller’s rescue.

An old police mugshot of Noel Barrett, who helped DM hold Mr Fuller captive. Barrett will remain behind bars until at least 2029.

The court heard the officers began negotiating with DM, but he ignored them and repeatedly hit Mr Fuller and threatened to kill him unless his injection demand was met.

“I’ll end him … I’ve killed before and I’ll kill again,” DM yelled out, in reference to his involvement in the stabbing of Caltex service station attendant Zeeshan Akbar in April 2017.

In that case, DM, who was 16 at the time, joined a 15-year-old accomplice in murdering Mr Akbar and using his blood to write the initials “IS” on a glass pane at the service station as Mr Akbar lay dying.

Meanwhile, the agreed facts in the kidnapping said DM and Barrett repeatedly attacked Mr Fuller throughout the afternoon, punching him and hitting him with weapons, as well as pouring cleaning chemicals over his body and threatening to set him on fire. Officers eventually negotiated the pair’s surrender just before 6pm.

The injured officer was taken to Port Macquarie Hospital, where he was treated for severe swelling and bruising to his face, along with chemical burns to approximately 10 per cent of his body, including his eyes.

DM and Barrett were each charged with special aggravated kidnapping, to which they pleaded guilty.

Supported by a contingent of friends and colleagues, including NSW Correctives deputy commissioner Anne-Marie Martin, Mr Fuller sat in court on Friday to hear Judge Andrew Coleman describe the kidnapping as an “extremely serious example” of such a crime.

“There can be no doubt the offences committed by the offenders were grave,” he said.

“(Mr Fuller was) repeatedly and violently assaulted … whilst restrained in a chair with his hands tied and a box on his head. He was persistently beaten and stabbed.

“Completely understandably, Mr Fuller believed he would be killed.”

The court heard both DM and Barrett had had extremely deprived upbringings involving exposure to significant trauma, violence and drugs from a young age.

Judge Coleman accepted Barrett was remorseful but could not find the same for DM, who he said had very poor prospects of any real rehabilitation.

He sentenced Barrett to 10 years jail, with a non-parole period of six years and six months.

With time served, Barrett will become eligible to apply for parole in 2029.

DM was sentenced to 13 years jail, with a non-parole period of eight years and six months.

He made an audible “huff” sound when the sentence was read out, then folded his arms and did a soft clap with both hands as Judge Coleman told him this sentence would begin in 2037, at the expiration of the murder sentence, and he would not be eligible to apply for parole until 2046.

The court heard both men are now being housed in the high-risk inmate section of Goulburn Correctional Centre and will effectively spend their sentences in isolation.