‘Execution-style’ kill

Victim murdered by housemate as he urinated by roadside

GAGEBROOK dad Jarrod Leigh Turner was urinating on the side of the road when he was shot in the head at close range.

Now, more than a year after Mr Turner slumped to the ground dead on Colebrook Road, his murderer will finally be brought to justice.

GAGEBROOK dad Jarrod Leigh Turner was urinating on the side of the road when he was shot in the head at close range. The 22-year-old had no idea it was coming. Now, more than a year after Mr Turner slumped to the ground dead on Colebrook Road, with his body not found until daybreak by a passing motorist, his murderer will finally be brought to justice. Shannon James Duffy, 31, appeared in the Supreme Court of Tasmania on Monday after finally confessing in February to the April 2019 murder. Crown prosecutor Linda Mason SC told the court Duffy had been told by another man to “punish” the father-of-two amid claims he had been involved in a house fire. But it was when Duffy heard allegations Mr Turner had made “inappropriate sexual advances” to an underage girl that he formed a plan to murder his long-term friend and housemate. Ms Mason said Duffy wrapped a 12-gauge shotgun in a yellow and black Yamaha motorbike cloth before texting his victim: “What are you up to brother?” About 2.30am on April 14, they drove to Five Mile Beach, with Mr Turner taking a video of the pair drinking alcohol together and uploading it to his Snapchat account. After they left, the men pulled up on the side of the road near Richmond to urinate — with Duffy retrieving the shotgun, Ms Mason said. “The accused shot Mr Turner in an execution style. It is obvious from the (Snapchat) footage that Mr Turner had no idea what was about to befall him,” she said. “The car was immediately driven away from the scene, leaving the deceased by the side of the road.” Ms Mason said a passing motorist discovered the body about 5.45am, along with his wallet, a can of Woodstock Bourbon and the Yamaha top. “His genitals were exposed. He had been shot unexpectedly while urinating on the side of the road,” she said. Ms Mason said over the coming days, Duffy took steps to cover his tracks and pleaded not guilty to one count of murder. She said he then told police last November that he’d only meant to scare Mr Turner and had accidentally tripped and pulled the trigger, before changing his plea to guilty earlier this year. Outside court, Mr Turner’s sister Lakeisha Pearce, 15, told reporters Mr Turner had been like a father figure to her. “I feel like if I look hard enough, I’ll find him. But the only place I seem to find him is in the graveyard,” she said. “I hope that one day I get to see him again. I just want to cuddle him and tell him how much he means to me.” Several other people have been charged in relation to Mr Turner’s death. Duffy will return to court on July 23, and will be sentenced at a later date.