A man who murdered his vulnerable housemate, beheaded him, killed his two dogs and tried to cover his tracks has lost an appeal against his conviction.
Darren Ward Gale is serving 23 years in prison for the July 2016 murder of Noel Ingham, 58, who had taken him in as a lodger in his home in north-west Tasmania just weeks earlier.
Mr Ingham’s body was discovered in a shallow grave in forest land, but his head, which Gale threw into a river, has never been found.
A Tasmanian Supreme Court jury found Gale guilty of murder in 2019 in an entirely circumstantial case.
Gale’s appeal against the conviction, brought on the basis that the evidence was not strong enough, was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal on Monday.
Victim Noel Joseph Ingham, 58, (pictured) was beheaded by the man he took in as a lodger just weeks earlier in 2016.
The three-judge panel said the evidence was strong enough for a jury to return a guilty verdict, including the amount of blood in the unit, the damage to the kitchen and Gale’s “callous” behavior after the murder.
Gale, who was in court when the appeal was dismissed, said the decision was “a bloody joke.”
The judges said the decapitation supported the inference that Gale must have caused fatal injuries to Ingham’s head.
Gale lived in Mr Ingham’s unit rent-free for almost three months after the murder, stole and disposed of his property and lied about the man’s disappearance.
Sentencing Judge Helen Wood said Gale had a “powerful sense” of self-preservation at all costs.
After the crime, Gale used Mr Ingham’s phone to send text messages to his own phone to create a false impression that he was alive.
He got rid of the blood-soaked carpet and underlayment and cleaned the walls of the unit.
Gale also told people Ingham had gone to Hobart for medical treatment and feigned concern to police.
Judge Wood described the murder as cruel and senseless.
Darren Ward Gale threw Ingham’s head off a Tasmanian bridge (pictured) and drowned the dead man’s two dogs.
There were tensions between the couple due to Gale’s sense of entitlement and desire to exploit the situation by wanting to become Mr Ingham’s carer, against his wishes.
Mr Ingham was physically vulnerable.
The remains of his two dogs were found about 80 meters from his burned car, in the same area where his body was discovered.
Gale will be eligible for parole in late 2030.