Rick Thorburn, killer of foster child Tiahleigh Palmer, found dead in jail cell

A man sentenced to life behind bars for killing a foster child in his care has been found dead in his Queensland jail cell.

A man convicted of killing a foster child in his care has been found dead in his jail cell.

Rick Thorburn murdered 12-year-old schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer in 2015 and was sentenced to life in prison.

Thorburn was found dead in his cell in regional Queensland on Friday, and is understood to have taken his own life.

A Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman confirmed the death of Thorburn to NewsWire.

“The 64-year-old man was accommodated in a single cell and was found unresponsive at approximately 10pm,” a spokeswoman said.

“Responding officers called QAS and attempted to revive the man however their efforts were unsuccessful.

Rick Thorburn, who was convicted of killing foster child Tiahleigh Palmer while she was in his care, has died in jail. Pictures: Jack Tran

Tiahleigh Palmer was 12 years old when she died. Picture: supplied

“The incident has been reported to police and QCS will assist with their investigation.”

Tiahleigh was reported missing in October 2015, from the home of Thorburn, his wife Julene and their two sons south of Brisbane.

Tiahleigh’s body was found six days later on a river bank.

Julene ran a home childcare business from the house.

Tiahleigh’s older foster brother, Trent Thorburn, had sexually abused her. The schoolgirl’s murder was likely an attempt to cover up the abuse.

Trent later pleaded guilty to incest, perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

A coroner investigating Rick’s actions - after he had pleaded guilty to Tiahleigh’s murder - said the 12-year-old was resilient despite a tough start in life.

Child welfare staff suspected Tiahleigh had gone through drug withdrawal at birth.

“She loved hip hop dancing, cheerleading, animals and horse riding. She was described as a ‘delightful girl’ and ‘a child people fell in love with’ by those who knew her,” Coroner Jane Bentley found.

“Despite being subjected to neglect, abuse, abandonment and adversity, Tiahleigh remained a kind and gentle girl. She had many friends at high school.

“She was not ‘streetwise’ but immature and naive for her age. Although in the past she had experienced some behavioural issues as a result of the harm that she had suffered, she had not been involved in the justice system and had no history of self-harm, drug or alcohol use.”

Because Tiahleigh’s body was significantly decomposed, authorities could not establish her cause of death.

Rick Thorburn never explained how he murdered Tiahleigh. Pictures: Jack Tran

While never explaining how he killed Tiahleigh, Rick Thorburn pleaded guilty to murder, interfering with a dead body, and attempting to pervert the course of justice in relation to his false statements to police and advising his wife and sons to make similar false statements.

He was sentenced to life in jail with a minimum non-parole period of 20 years, which would have expired in 2036.

Additionally, he pleaded guilty to abusing and raping an 11-year-old and attempting to rape a four-year-old who were in care in the childcare business at the house.

Julene Thorburn tried to disguise herself with a wig after giving evidence at the Coroner’s Court in 2021. Picture: NewsWire / Dan Peled

Rick, Julene, Trent and the second brother Josh were all convicted for their involvements in the cover-up of Tiahleigh’s death.

Trent was sentenced to four years’ jail but was released on parole after 16 months.

Julene was convicted of perjury and attempting to pervert the court of justice, and sentenced to 18 months in prison, which was suspended after six months.

Joshua was sentenced to an effective term of three months in jail for the same charges as his mother.

Before his death on Friday, Thorburn had tried to end his own life at least three times in prison.