Latest news with #CoryBreton
News.com.au
26-06-2025
- News.com.au
Toolbox murder trio sentenced to life after victims bound, beaten and dumped in dam
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. 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. 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. 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.
ABC News
26-06-2025
- ABC News
Three men sentenced to life in jail for second time over toolbox murder of Iuliana Triscaru and Cory Breton in 2016
Three men have been sentenced to life in jail for a second time over the "cruel deaths" of two people who were locked inside a toolbox and dumped in a south-east Queensland dam. Last week, Trent Thrupp, Stou Daniels and Davy Taiao were again found guilty of the 2016 murders of Iulian Triscaru and Cory Breton. The trio were convicted by a different jury in 2021 of those charges as well as torture but were awarded a retrial on the more serious offences last year. During both trials, the Supreme Court in Brisbane heard the bodies of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were found badly decomposed in Scrubby Creek in Logan. More than two weeks earlier, the pair had been lured to a Kingston unit where they were subjected to a violent attack over an alleged drug dispute. They were then forced into a two-metre-long metal toolbox, which was later submerged in the waterway, where it is believed they drowned. During a sentencing hearing on Thursday, several family members submitted victim impact statements. Mr Breton's daughter, who was only three years old when he died, said in her statement she looked at photographs to try and remember him. "But no matter how hard I try I can't," her statement said. Ms Triscaru's family said in their shared statement that her death had left an "unfillable void", and the retrial had brought "fresh agony" and re-traumatised them. "To relive every horrific detail, every moment of fear and despair… is an injustice that compounds our initial grief," the statement said. Justice Glenn Martin described the offending as "appalling". "It is difficult to imagine the immense terror that each must have felt over the hours leading up to their cruel deaths," he said. The three men were sentenced to mandatory life in jail and under Queensland legislation will have to serve at least 30 years in prison due to their being two murder convictions.
Daily Mail
26-06-2025
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Chilling development after two people were tortured, stuffed alive into a toolbox and dumped in a lagoon near Brisbane
Three men found guilty of the 'horrific' murder of two people who drowned in a toolbox have been given a 30-year life sentence. Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, were killed at Kingston in Logan, south of Brisbane, on January 24, 2016. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into a two-metre-long toolbox. Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time following a retrial. Justice Glenn Martin said they had engaged in 'appalling conduct' when he sentenced the trio in the Queensland Supreme Court on Thursday. 'It is difficult to imagine the immense terror they felt in the hours leading up to their deaths,' he said. Justice Martin accepted crown prosecutor Nathan Crane's submission that the three defendants should serve 30 years instead of the mandatory 20-year minimum. All three defendants have already spent more than nine years in custody, which was recognised as time served. Mr Breton's partner, Miranda Parkinson, said in her victim impact statement that she knew he was dead as soon as she got a call from detectives asking to visit their home. 'I lost any hope I had held onto after 17 painstaking days that Cory was missing,' she said. 'The man that I loved, that I thought I was going to spend the rest of my life with, no longer exists.' Mr Breton's sister Tamara Kazim-Breton told the defendants about the person they 'threw away so easily like they were nothing'. 'Your actions didn't just take Cory, you tore us apart', she said. 'None of us living decent lives should be forced to relive this horror.' Ms Triscaru's mother and family members said in a joint victim impact statement that she was cherished as the heart of the family. 'Her senseless killing has left wounds that continue to bleed,' the family members said. A jury returned its verdict on June 20 after deliberating for more than two days. The trio faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru had been lured to a Kingston unit before being attacked by a group of men over a drug-dealing dispute. The men drank whiskey and played video games for hours after torturing the pair and forcing them into the toolbox. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. Thrupp either threw the toolbox, weighed down by concrete, into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane told the jury. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the lagoon two weeks later.
Daily Mail
20-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Trio face jury verdict in tense retrial ten years after the gruesome 'Toolbox murder' of an Aussie man and woman
For hours, three men played video games and drank whiskey as Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru lay bound in a toolbox nearby. The pair had been beaten, stabbed and choked before they were stuffed into the two metre-long container. They were likely 'screaming for their lives' when the toolbox was later dumped in a lagoon south of Brisbane in January 2016. Almost 10 years later, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were found guilty of the pair's murder for a second time. They faced a retrial in Brisbane after the Court of Appeal set aside murder convictions in July 2024. Mr Breton, 28, and Ms Triscaru, 31, had been lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, before being attacked by a group of men. 'It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day... while bound with cable ties and duct tape,' Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the weeks-long trial that concluded with Friday's verdicts. They were attacked, interrogated and threatened over a drug dealing dispute. When Ngatokoona Mareiti arrived at the unit to buy drugs, Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were sitting bound on the couch. Sent away to buy whiskey, by the time Mareiti returned she could not see the pair and assumed they were in the toolbox at the unit. They drank and played video games as the bound pair were held captive in the container nearby. 'We drank the alcohol... they had a PlayStation there,' Mareiti told the jury. Cloths and bleach used to clean bloodstains in the unit were thrown into the toolbox before it was taken away with Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru still inside. The terrified pair made so much noise as the container was being moved, music from an awaiting ute was turned up in a bid to conceal it. 'The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex - there was noise emanating from the toolbox,' Mr Crane said. 'There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound.' Thrupp either threw the toolbox weighed down by concrete into nearby Scrubby Creek or was present when it happened, Mr Crane said. Daniels and Taiao were also liable for murder by forcing the victims into the toolbox hours before their deaths, he said. Police divers found the bodies locked in the toolbox submerged in the creek two weeks later. 'Most likely the two... were alive and screaming for their lives when they were placed in the creek,' Justice Peter Davis said in 2020 when sentencing Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the ute to the creek. 'It is haunting to imagine the moment that the toolbox slipped under the water, plunging the night into silence.' Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp each pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder at their retrial. The jury on Friday returned its verdict after deliberating since 10.45am Wednesday. The trio will be sentenced on Thursday. Overall seven men and a woman were charged over what became known as the 'toolbox murders'. Tahiata received a life sentence for murder, unsuccessfully appealing the conviction in April 2024. Mareiti, Webbstar Latu, Tepuna Tupuna Mariri and Waylon Ngaketo Cowan Walker were found guilty of manslaughter. However, Walker had his convictions overturned in July 2024.
Daily Mail
05-06-2025
- Daily Mail
How two friends were allegedly tortured, then locked in a toolbox and submerged alive - as prosecution speaks out on motive
Three men accused of murder allegedly played music to conceal the noise of two people banging from inside a toolbox before it was submerged in water, a jury has heard. Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp are charged with murdering Cory Breton, 28, and Iuliana Triscaru, 31, on January 24, 2016. All three men pleaded not guilty to two murder charges at the start of their trial in the Queensland Supreme Court on Monday. Crown prosecutor Nathan Crane told the jury Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were lured to a residential unit at Kingston, south of Brisbane, and tortured over the course of a day before being forced into a large toolbox. 'The transition of the toolbox to a HiLux utility vehicle attracted attention from those present at the unit complex. There was noise emanating from the toolbox,' Mr Crane said. 'There was music used from the HiLux to cover up the sound. 'Various residents can tell you what they heard from the back of the utility in the car park.' Evidence that Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were still alive when they left the unit would come from the testimony of multiple witnesses about hearing banging noises from the toolbox, Mr Crane said. 'They were still trying to get out,' he said. Mr Crane told the jury Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were assaulted, interrogated and threatened with harm from knives and guns over a dispute involving drug dealing before they died. 'It was torturous. They were assaulted when they arrived and throughout the day ... while bound with cable ties and duct tape,' Mr Crane said. Mr Crane said the pair was forced into a toolbox two metres long and 60 centimetres deep that was driven to nearby Scrubby Creek on the back of the HiLux. 'They were likely alive in the toolbox when they entered the body of water at Scrubby Creek.' Police divers found the bodies of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru in the box at the bottom of the lagoon two weeks later. 'It was obvious there were attempts to weigh the toolbox down. There were pieces of concrete and old tyres in the same vicinity,' Mr Crane said. The bodies were so decomposed doctors could only conclude the pair died either from asphyxiation before being put into the water, or from drowning. The jury was shown images of the black toolbox being lifted from the lagoon strewn with weeds and water lilies. Justice Glenn Martin told the jury Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp had previously faced trial for the murder of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru. 'That this is a retrial has nothing to do with your task,' Justice Martin told the jury. Mr Crane said the prosecution case was Thrupp was at least present when the toolbox was dumped into the water. Daniels and Taiao were also responsible for the murders because of their actions immediately beforehand, he told the jury. 'The violence, their taking away of the toolbox, made them just as liable,' Mr Crane said. The jury heard Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were good friends and were involved in drug dealing. 'Drugs are at the heart of this. The motivation for it ... the catalyst for the killings,' Mr Crane said. He told the jury the Kingston unit was thoroughly cleaned with all furniture removed after Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru disappeared. The jury was shown text messages allegedly between Thrupp and Daniels discussing the extensive police search around Kingston and the potential need for legal advice. Defence barristers for Daniels, Taiao and Thrupp are due to give their opening addresses to the jury on Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to go for three weeks.
