Parole denied until prisoner directs police to Pullen’s body

Parole has been denied to one of the men convicted over the killing of Timothy Pullen because his body has not been found.

Mackay man Timothy Pullen was killed in 2012.

Queensland’s new “no body no parole” laws have passed a major test, with a decision to refuse to release one of the men convicted over the killing of Timothy Pullen before his body has been found.

The Parole Board of Queensland has announced it was not satisfied Stephen Dale Renwick had co-operated satisfactorily in the investigation to identify the location of Pullen’s remains.

At an unprecedented open parole hearing last month, Renwick claimed he and another man incinerated Pullen’s body and that his “microscopic” remains would never be found.

His lawyer also submitted to the parole board that any chance of finding ­traces of Pullen, 34, was lost when Cyclone Debbie tore through the area last March, dumping 200mm of rain in 24 hours.

The board found Renwick’s claim about cremating the body where he had led police was “implausible” and “not truthful or reliable”, noting residents of a nearby farmhouse did not notice the long-burning fire.

If the body had been cremated at all — and there were “significant doubts” about this — then it was not at the location Renwick had identified.

Pullen’s parents Leanne and Gary Pullen had raised doubts about his story at the time of the hearing, saying they would be devastated if he was released before remains were found.

“Throughout all of this, all I’ve ever wanted to know is where Tim was,” Ms Pullen said after the hearing.

Stephen Dale Renwick has been denied parole under the new No Body No Parole laws. Picture: Peter Holt

“In my lifetime I want to be able to lay him to rest respectfully because what parent wants to leave this earth not knowing.”

The No Body No Parole laws were introduced last year to keep killers and accessories behind bars until they reveal the location of their missing victims.

Pullen disappeared from Mackay in April 2012.

In May 2016 Renwick and co-accused Luke Shayne Kister pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact to Pullen’s manslaughter. They are among six people convicted over his death.

In June 2016 Renwick claimed he and Kister dumped the body uncovered in the bush. A police search that month of the rural area failed to find the remains.

Detectives went back to ­Renwick in prison last year when it became clear he could be kept locked up under the new parole laws.

For the first time, he then claimed he and Kister wrapped the body in rubber and “cremated” it using diesel as accelerant.

The pair watched the body burn for up to 90 minutes, last month’s hearing was told. “That is 100 per cent honest with ya this time,” Renwick told police.

A new police search of the site again failed to find remains. Kister was granted parole before the No Body No Parole laws were introduced.

The Queensland government was left embarrassed last year when The Australian revealed Pullen’s parents were not told the new board had decided to release one of the killers, Ben Oakley.

Public servant Paul Turner, who exposed the “scandalous” government conduct and was sacked, attended last month’s hearing in Brisbane.