Toolbox murder trio sentenced to life after victims bound, beaten and dumped in dam

Three men have been sentenced to life after they bound and locked two people inside a toolbox before dumping them alive in a dam and leaving them to die.

Three men have been sentenced to life behind bars for the second time over the brutal 2016 murders of Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru.

Their battered and lifeless bodies were discovered locked inside a metal toolbox, submerged beneath the murky waters of a Logan dam.

Trent Thrupp, Stou Daniels, and Davy Taiao were convicted last week of murdering the pair, following a retrial in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

The trio had previously been found guilty in 2021 of murder and torture, but the Court of Appeal granted a retrial on the murder charges last year.

Trent Michael Thrupp, Stou Daniels and Davy Malu Junior Taiao have been sentenced to life behind bars for the second time over the brutal 2016 murders of Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru.

Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into a two-metre-long toolbox. Picture: 9News

The court was told that Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were bound with cable ties and duct tape, then violently beaten, stabbed, and choked before being forced into a two-metre-long metal toolbox.

While they remained trapped inside, some of the offenders drank whiskey and played video games in the unit.

The victims had been attacked over an alleged drug dispute.

Cleaning cloths and bleach used to wipe bloodstains were thrown into the toolbox before it was loaded onto a HiLux ute. Loud music was reportedly played to drown out the sound of the pair struggling inside.

Bound and gagged and crammed inside a two-metre toolbox, Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru knew for at least 10 terrifying minutes that they were going to die.

Thrupp was either the one who dumped the toolbox into Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened. Daniels and Taiao were also held responsible for placing the victims in the container and contributing to their deaths.

Police later found the bodies locked in the toolbox underwater in an advanced state of decomposition, with evidence suggesting the pair were still alive when it was submerged.

There was evidence the pair were alive when the toolbox was submerged. Picture: 9News

Stou Daniels was held responsible for placing the victims in the container and contributing to their deaths.

Eight people were charged over the deaths. Several others received manslaughter convictions, and Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute, was sentenced to life in prison. His appeal was dismissed in 2024.

On Thursday, Justice Glenn Martin imposed mandatory life sentences on each of the three men, with time already served formally declared.

Under Queensland law, because the case involved two murder victims, all three must serve a minimum of 30 years in prison before being eligible for parole.

Originally published as Toolbox murder trio sentenced to life after victims bound, beaten and dumped in dam