Private school captain Marco Yandle learns his fate over alleged murder of homeless man: ‘Finished’

The former vice-principal of a prestigious private school has been freed after winning an appeal against the sentence he received for helping his father cover up a gruesome alleged murder.

Marco Yandle was sentenced to 20 months in jail in July by the Supreme Court of South Australia for helping his father escape arrest or prosecution for the alleged murder of homeless Steven Murphy on the Yandles’ Kudla property in Adelaide’s far north in February 2023.

Marco was immediately released from prison on a suspended sentence. Judge Judy Hughes cited the time he had already served, the fact that Yandle had no prior criminal offenses and that a psychologist had indicated in her decision that he was at “low risk” of reoffending.

But the Director of Public Prosecutions, Martin Hinton KC, appealed against the sentence in August, calling it “clearly inadequate”.

Mr Hinton argued that Judge Hughes had failed to properly consider the issue of Marco’s ‘knowledge’ of the alleged murder and the relationship between knowledge and a proper consideration of criminal offence.

On Thursday, the South Australian Court of Appeal in Adelaide largely upheld the original sentence.

The judges increased Marco’s sentence from 20 months to two years and six months, but upheld the reductions Marco could receive and suspended the sentence. This meant that Marco would be released on condition that he behaved well and that his case was now finished.

Outside the courtroom, defence lawyer Stephen Ey, who represents Marco, said he was “relieved it’s all over”.

Police are seen at the scene of the gruesome alleged murder in February 2023

At the August hearing, both Mr Hinton and Marco’s defence argued that Judge Hughes had made a procedural error in her sentence, regarding her interpretation of suspended sentences. Marco’s defence, however, argued that the sentence itself was fair.

Scott Henchliffe KC, for Marco, said it would be “unfairly unpleasant” if Marco were to receive a new sentence because of a judge’s error.

Mr Henchliffe also argued that Marco’s promising personal circumstances had determined the appropriate ‘sentence’. He stated that Marco was ‘near the top’ in terms of mitigating circumstances.

“This was an unexpected, horrible episode for Mr. Yandle,” he said, adding that Marco had been “involved in it involuntarily.”

Marco, 20, signed a two-year code of conduct in July and is under the supervision of Department of Corrections officials.

The full reasons underlying the court’s decision to uphold Marco’s suspended sentence have not been disclosed.

Marco’s father Keith is due to stand trial for the alleged murder in February, with judges cautious about influencing the outcome of the trial.

Marco was the vice-captain of Adelaide’s prestigious Trinity College (pictured in his uniform)

“The reasons published by the court on the basis of access to the parties go into detail regarding the circumstances of the offence, but the court is aware that Mr Yandle senior has not yet been tried,” the judges said.

‘As a precaution, it is probably appropriate for your office (the Crown Prosecution Service) and those acting on behalf of Mr Yandle senior to review the reasons for this to see whether any redactions are necessary before the documents are published.

“The court does not want to harm the process.”

Keith Yandle has pleaded not guilty to murder after initially attempting to plead guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter.

Marco was vice-captain of Trinity College, a private co-educational school in Gawler where senior pupils pay up to $7,060 a year.