<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A man's early confession of guilt after helping to kill a tradie and shove his body into a metal box over a perceived $50,000 drug debt has sliced years off his jail term.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Darcy Schafer-Turner died after he was put in a chokehold, tied up with duct tape and held down by two men in a Sydney apartment on April 27, 2023.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Suffocating on his own vomit, the 22-year-old tradie was unable to be revived at the Peakhurst residence before his body was put into the box and dumped into a creek.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/nsw-state-coroner-teresa-osullivan-makes-rare-public-statement-on-profoundly-distressing-milestone-of-indigenous-deaths-in-custody/b20d302c-688e-47ab-a72e-b6a7d22285e0" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>State coroner pens rare public letter on 'profoundly distressing milestone'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>One of the attackers - Zachary Richard Fraser, 24 - was jailed today for six-and-a-half years for manslaughter.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fraser and another man - who fled the country to Germany and cannot be named for legal reasons - believed Schafer-Turner owed a drug debt of $50,000.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They lured him to the unit, saying they had cocaine for him to on-sell.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-nsw-supreme-court-zachary-richard-fraser-admits-to-helping-suffocate-darcy-schaferturner-and-shoving-him-in-box/3462e6ad-0f3f-4998-ba91-afc4a984b802" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But plans went awry.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"There is someone laying on the floor in my bathroom dead," Fraser wrote to an acquaintance on messaging app Signal.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was an accident. I only meant to tie him up."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The man, whom Fraser had met through online gaming and also cannot be legally named, then reached out to a "cleaner" in Queensland.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Charles Dennis Turnbull, 36, caught a flight to Sydney and met the victim's attackers, joining them in a trip to Bunnings for a metal cabinet.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Schafer-Turner's body was then placed in the metal cabinet, loaded onto the back of a ute and driven five hours north to Macksville by Turnbull.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Turnbull, acting on a $30,000 offer, was later paid $20,000 by Fraser for his services.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A missing persons report and subsequent police investigation led to the discovery of Schafer-Turner's body in a creek south of Macksville on May 12.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/eugowra-flood-deaths-warnings-inquest-brigid-rice/e0b29f9b-d3de-4387-8445-2d306cdb657a" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Weather bureau warnings 'inadequate' before deadly flood, expert says</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fraser was arrested three days later.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>While there had been an attempt to revive Schafer-Turner, neither of his two attackers called emergency services for help, Justice Nicholas Chen said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Fraser took further steps of contacting the "cleaner" to try and cover up the crime, the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 24-year-old's arguments that what occurred was "essentially spontaneous" were rejected by the judge who pointed out it had been spurred on by the perceived drug debt.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The incident had caused pain for the loved ones of the 22-year-old victim, described as a funny, caring young man with an adventurous spirit who was unconditionally loved.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The taking of Darcy Schafer-Turner's life is a tragedy that has caused profound grief and sorrow to his family and those close to him," the judge said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Fraser's sentence was reduced because of his lack of a criminal record, his prior good character and an early guilty plea.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He had shown genuine remorse, accepting responsibility for the death and was unlikely to re-offend when released, Justice Chen found.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His time in custody would be made more onerous by his diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, persistent depressive disorder and dependent personality disorder.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the judge dismissed arguments the latter disorder - which manifests as clingy behaviour and submissiveness - spurred on the unlawful and dangerous attack.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/gladstone-queensland-house-fire/f767b7b3-0dc0-42af-8a56-de66c3317c65" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Woman and two children dead after 'horrific' house fire in central Queensland</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 24-year-old claimed the disorder meant he went along with the scheme at the other man's request.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>With time served, Fraser will be eligible for release in July 2027 after being behind bars for four years and two months.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Turnbull pleaded guilty to being an accessory to manslaughter and was sentenced to a maximum sentence of three years and three months in December 2024.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His two-year non-parole period expired in May.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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