Brisbane businessman Charles Turnbull charged and extradited to NSW over Bunnings body-in-cabinet murder of Sydney drug dealer
Brisbane businessman Charles Turnbull charged and extradited to NSW over Bunning’s murder of Sydney drug dealer
A Queensland businessman reportedly hired as ‘The Cleaner’ to dispose of the body of a murdered man has been extradited to NSW to face charges.
Charles Dennis Le Marchant Turnbull is accused of being involved in dumping the body of a Cronulla drug dealer in a river on the NSW north coast.
The 33-year-old was charged in Lismore local court on Saturday with complicity in a murder, stealing a motor vehicle and improperly disturbing a corpse.
Turnbull, owner of Brisbane Airport-based aviation services company AAG, was reportedly approached by accused killer Zachary Richard Fraser, 22, to cover up the murder of Darcy Schafer-Turner, 22.
Charles Dennis Le Marchant Turnbull (pictured), 33, reportedly acted as ‘The Cleaner’ and helped clean up the crime scene and dispose of the body of Mr Schafer-Turner
Schafer-Turner’s body was found, wrapped in plastic and in a metal container, floating in Warrell Creek near Macksville.
Police allege Schafer-Turner was violently assaulted and possibly suffocated in April over a drug-related dispute.
Turnbull was denied bail in May, but his extradition to NSW was delayed until matters in Queensland were finalized.
The businessman’s extradition was granted by the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday.
During a bail hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court in May, Turnbull was reportedly flown to Sydney where he purchased chlorine, coveralls, duct tape, gloves and cleaning supplies from Bunnings.
Police claimed he then went to the Peakhurst estate where Mr Schafer-Turner’s body lay.
The body of 22-year-old Cronulla drug dealer Darcy Schafer-Turner (pictured) was found floating in a metal container wrapped in plastic in a river on the north coast of NSW.
Turnbull was allegedly hired to dispose of Schafer-Turner’s body to pay off drug-related debts (pictured, Warrell Creek near Macksville, where the body was found)
Turnbull is said to have made another trip to Bunnings in the company of the deceased to purchase a large metal case, drill, zip ties and rolls of black plastic.
It was alleged that Turnbull and the other men then cleaned up the crime scene and wrapped Mr. Schafer-Turner’s body in plastic and then placed it in the metal case, which was then placed in the deceased’s womb.
Turnbull then allegedly purchased a trailer and aluminum boat in Port Macquarie from the Facebook marketplace, which he then drove north to Warrell Creek, where he dumped the body.
The court heard that Turnbull was allegedly paid a sum of money for his assistance.
“He’s been called in to clean up at this time, but I have no information to suggest that this was his normal occupation,” Detective Acting Superintendent Gorman said.
Zachary Richard Fraser (pictured), 22, was arrested at his home in South Sydney’s Peakhurst in May and charged with the alleged murder of Darcy Schafer-Turner
Turnbull is accused of flying to Sydney and making a trip to Bunnings where he bought chlorine, coveralls, duct tape, gloves and cleaning supplies and then a large metal cabinet, drill, zip ties and rolls of black plastic (photo, stock).
Turnbull was reportedly in debt related to drugs and had been told he could pay off some of that debt if he helped.
NSW police mounted a strike force in May to investigate Schafer-Turner’s disappearance while monitoring drug sales in south-east Sydney.
The police had overheard his drug dealings, but on April 27, it suddenly fell silent.
Fraser has been charged with the murder of Schafer-Turner at a Peakhurst home in late April and has yet to appear in court.