An 82-year-old farmer who was convicted of murdering a NSW environment officer during a dispute over illegal land clearing has died in custody in Sydney.
Ian Turnbull, who had been serving a maximum 35-year jail term at Long Bay Correctional Complex, died in Prince of Wales Hospital in Randwick on Monday.
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The farmer who was accused of killing environmental officer Glen Turner near Moree is convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years jail. Courtesy ABC News 24.
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Ian Turnbull jailed for 35 years
The farmer who was accused of killing environmental officer Glen Turner near Moree is convicted of murder and sentenced to 35 years jail. Courtesy ABC News 24.
A Corrective Services spokeswoman confirmed the inmate died after being taken to hospital by ambulance on March 20. He was suffering a terminal illness, the spokeswoman said.
Last year, Turnbull was sentenced to a maximum of 35 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 24 years, for the "terrifying and shattering" murder of Glen Turner near Moree, in north-western NSW, in July, 2014.
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Mr Turner, a compliance officer for the Office of Environment and Heritage, had been investigating Turnbull for illegal clearing of native vegetation, and was carrying out what should have been a routine departmental visit with a colleague when he was murdered.
Turnbull used a hunting rifle that he kept in his ute for shooting wild pigs and kangaroos to kill Mr Turner, 51.
His trial heard that on the day of the shooting, Turnbull walked towards Mr Turner and his colleague, Robert Strange, raised his weapon and wordlessly shot Mr Turner in the neck.
As the light faded, Turnbull shot Mr Turner repeatedly, ignoring pleas from Mr Strange to let them get help.
The shooting followed years of tension and court battles over illegal clearing. Turnbull was facing prosecutions by the Office of Environment and Heritage in the Land and Environment Court over illegal land clearing, which he continued to do after officially being told to stop.
When sentencing Turnbull last year, Justice Peter Johnson told the court that the 35-year maximum sentence was a de facto life sentence for the farmer.
"I have taken into account that this sentence will almost certainly constitute a de facto life sentence with the offender dying in custody before the expiration of the non-parole period," the judge said.
"I am satisfied that no lesser sentence is appropriate in all the circumstances of the case."
During a sentencing hearing in Sydney last year, Mr Turner's widow, Alison McKenzie, said she could not comprehend how someone could hurt another person in that manner.
"He was treated like a feral pig," she said in a statement read to the court by a family member.
She said her family was "broken" by her partner's death.
"The world had swallowed me up," she said of the moment when she found out Mr Turner had died.