In short:
Marco Anthony Yandle was sentenced to one year and eight months for assisting his father in the alleged murder of Steven Murphy.
He was released after serving his 13-month non-parole period in custody and the remaining seven months were suspended.
What’s next?
Outside court, his defence lawyer said the sentence was “merciful” and that his client was “very regretful”.
An Adelaide man who helped his father to cover up the death of missing man Steven Murphy has been given a partially suspended sentence and released from custody.
Former Trinity College vice-captain Marco Anthony Yandle and his father, Keith Russell Yandle, were charged with the murder of Mr Murphy at Kudla in April last year.
In January, Marco Yandle’s murder charge was dropped after he instead pleaded guilty to assisting an offender, by concealing items belonging to the victim and lying to police.
The court heard the 20-year-old accompanied his father with a baseball bat to confront Mr Murphy who was intruding in the Yandle property’s shed.
During sentencing on Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Judy Hughes said Keith Yandle allegedly shot Mr Murphy four times before he died and allegedly buried his remains in a pit underneath the shed.
“It’s not alleged that you took part in that,” Justice Hughes told Marco Yandle.
“On the same night or the days following – you hid a phone and torch belonging to Mr Murphy, you hid them to assist your father in not being associated with the killing of Mr Murphy.”
The court heard Mr Murphy was unarmed and sleeping rough at the time – having previously lived with his partner and two sons not far from the Yandle property.
Justice Hughes said Marco Yandle’s father had been a “mentor” to him as a child.
“Over the days following Mr Murphy’s death, your shock turned to confusion and disappointment in your father – whom you believed had not raised you to act in a manner that you had witnessed him act,” she said.
Justice Hughes acknowledged the pain of Mr Murphy’s loved ones.
“The consequences of that night were devastating,” she said.
Marco Yandle was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison, with a non-parole period of one year and one month.
Since he had already served the non-parole period in custody, Justice Hughes suspended the remainder of his sentence on the condition he enter into a two-year good behaviour bond.
Some of Marco Yandle’s family cried and at times appeared to be praying as the sentence was delivered.
Outside court, his defence lawyer Stephen Ey said his client was “very regretful for what’s happened”.
“I congratulate the judge on a merciful sentence,” Mr Ey said.
He said his client had served his sentence and was relieved and “elated.”
Mr Murphy’s partner Danielle Rogers left court visibly angry and said “no” when asked if the sentence imposed was what she wanted.