Ex-school captain Marco Yandle accused of murdering Marco Yandle seeks bail in Adelaide court

A teen and former school prefect charged with the murder of a father-of-two has asked a court to reconsider bail, with his lawyer questioning whether he “did anything at all wrong, let alone something criminal’.

On Monday afternoon, the Adelaide High Court heard that 19-year-old Marco Yandle would not pose a threat to the investigation if he were released on bail.

The teen has been charged with his father Keith Yandle in the alleged ‘execution-style’ murder of Steve Murphy – an Adelaide father-of-two who went missing in February.

The teenager previously lost a bail bid in Adelaide Magistrates Court over fears he would intimidate witnesses and disrupt the investigation, but asked for that warrant to be reviewed.

In court on Monday, top SA silk Mark Norman, speaking for Marco, said his client had an “exemplary character” whose life had been derailed by the proceedings.

“There is no reason to suspect that he ever harassed the courts or the authorities,” Norman said.

“There is nothing in this gentleman’s personal circumstances that would categorize him as posing a risk or threat to anyone or to the process.

“We have a 19-year-old teenager of good character who is being charged with murder based on what their father does in a dark barn in the middle of the night while investigating an intruder.

“There is a real question here as to whether Mr. Yandle has done anything wrong at all, much less a criminal offense. This is a highly unusual situation.’

Mr Yardle was vice-captain of the prestigious private school Trinity College in Adelaide.

Prosecutors allege that Keith and Marco equipped themselves with an illegal firearm and bat on the night of Feb. 19 after they suspected an intruder was on the property.

The alleged footage shows that a first shot was fired in a shed 60 meters away from the main building on the property in Kudla – what the defense described as a ‘warning shot’.

Mr. Murphy was then discovered ‘taking advantage of the darkness’ and hiding in the corner.

The teen has again asked a court to release him on bail, but prosecutors claim he could interfere with their case

The father and son then allegedly emptied Mr Murphy’s pockets before Keith Yandle allegedly shot him in the head.

Marco reportedly held a torch over Mr. Murphy, lighting him up when his father pulled the trigger.

Murphy’s body was found buried in an underground bunker days earlier under a shed on the Kudla property and the father and son were arrested on April 7.

Prosecutor Lucy Boord KC disagreed with Mr Norman, saying Marco still posed a serious threat to the investigation, which was ‘still in its infancy’.

“In response to the suggestion that it was a sensible approach to what happened, the sensible response would have been to call the police immediately,” Ms Boord said.

“They didn’t choose that.

“The applicant chose to arm himself with a baseball bat and flashlight.”

She said the teenager’s uncle is concerned about his behavior and fears he will interfere with his testimony.

Steve Murphy was found buried in an underground bunker after allegedly being shot in the head by flares

She said that “the seriousness of the crime, the risk of the applicant interfering with a vulnerable witness, and that the cameras have been removed and hidden” should keep Marco in custody until his next court hearing in October.

“I can tell you that there is still more CCTV footage to review, including whether or not (Marco) was involved in the disposal of the deceased’s body, which is currently being done,” she said.

“As I said, at this stage the investigation is still in its infancy, but we have a strong prosecution case.”

Justice Sandi McDonald will announce her bail decision on Friday.