Two men who ambushed a Queensland father with swords and left him to bleed to death in front of his family at a rural property have been jailed for life.

November 28, 2019

Two men drove 1000km to ambush a Queensland father, “brutally” attacked him with swords then left him bleeding to death to silence sexual assault allegations, a court has heard.

The pair then fled back to NSW in the hours after their “mutilated” victim was found in a pool of his own blood by his teenage daughter and mother.

Mark Stephen Crump, 38, and Trevor Spencer, 73, were sentenced in the Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday to life in prison for the murder of Gary Ryan, 43, on August 23, 2016.

Justice Martin Burns says “such base wickedness is not frequently seen by (the) courts” and the parole authorities will need to think long and hard before ever considering “such callous individuals” for release.

“This was a cowardly attack on a defenceless man who was quite unprepared for such an onslaught,” he said.

“He was a good and decent man but neither of you showed him any decency.”

The court heard Crump and Spencer meticulously planned their attack in the weeks before they left Orange.

They bought weapons, including throwing knives, swords and a crossbow pistol, before driving north to Mundubbera, near Bundaberg, to reconnoitre Mr Ryan’s property.

A day later they returned about 10.30am, calling Mr Ryan from his home to an outdoor toilet where they waited out of sight from his family inside the house.

“The pair of you ambushed him. You repeatedly stabbed him in the most callous and brutal manner,” Justice Burns said.

“You wounded him almost 60 times and then left him dying on the ground to be found by his mother and daughter.”

The men’s attack was so frenzied they also stabbed each other, he said.

The men then set about destroying evidence, creating alibis and telling “lie after lie” despite police finding their DNA at Mr Ryan’s home.

In their victim impact statements, Janet Ferguson and Aimee Ryan told the court they found Mr Ryan lying in a pool of his own blood but still alive.

“It was horrific for both of us to find Gary in such a way,” Ms Ferguson said. 

“I said to Gary ‘who did this to you son?’ And Gary’s response to me was ‘I’m dying mum’.”

The injuries to Mr Ryan’s head and neck were so extensive an undertaker refused to let Ms Ferguson view her son’s body because it was too “mutilated”.

Justice Burns said both men had a hand in the murder but Crump was the prime mover behind the attack.

He was motivated by his anger towards Mr Ryan for reporting the alleged sexual misconduct against a woman.

“And in particular, to suppress the furthering of the complaint she’d made to the police,” Justice Burns said.

“Such base wickedness is not frequently seen by these courts.”

“You have taken a life and left a gaping hole in the lives of Mr Ryan’s mother and daughter that can never be filled other than with profound grief,” he said.

Lawyer Tony Kimmins told the court Spencer would appeal the conviction.