Queensland man jailed for life for neighbour's murder, dismemberment

A Queensland man has been jailed for life for murdering his neighbour, dismembering his body and burying the remains in a freezer in the victim's backyard.

Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions that readers may find distressing.

In April, Bobby Andrew Weaver, 31, pleaded guilty to killing 58-year-old David Thornton, a long-term family friend, on an unknown date between January and March in 2019.

Mr Thornton had been reported missing by his family, and an extensive police investigation led to an excavation at his property at Goodna in Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

Officers uncovered two buried chest freezers, with one containing Mr Thornton's heavily decomposed and dismembered remains.

Weaver was arrested days later in Byron Bay and extradited to Queensland.

On Monday, more than seven years after Mr Thornton's death, Weaver was handed the mandatory life sentence for murder in Queensland.

During a sentencing hearing, the Supreme Court in Brisbane heard Weaver, who was 24 at the time, shot the victim twice in the head and severed his legs below the knees with a saw so his body could fit in the freezer.

The court heard Weaver then stole Mr Thornton's phone and repeatedly messaged his family and friends, telling them he had gone "off grid" on holiday in Western Australia.

Weaver also stole $30,000 from Mr Thornton, which he used to buy a motorcycle, the court heard.

Murdered in 'cold blood'

The prosecution told the hearing that while on remand, Weaver confessed to a fellow inmate and tried to coax him to execute one of Mr Thornton's daughters and stage it as a suicide.

Justice Paul Smith said Weaver "murdered a friend in cold blood" because of greed.

"It was premeditated, he was shot in the head twice, there was no indication of a struggle, he was seated at the time and the treatment of the body is disgraceful.

"There was a protracted and highly manipulative campaign to deceive family, friends and neighbours.

Justice Smith told the court the killing had a "profound effect" on Mr Thornton's family and friends.

In a victim impact statement read aloud by the prosecution, Mr Thornton's daughter said it had been "seven years of waiting".

"We didn't just lose him; we lost a part of ourselves … and we still bear the consequence of other people's actions each and every day."

Justice Smith acknowledged Weaver's guilty plea and lack of criminal history, but said it was "difficult to accept" he was remorseful, given the "prolonged campaign of deception" after the murder.

With time already served, Weaver will be eligible to apply for parole in 2039.