Bogie farm massacre: GoFundMe for Graham Tighes widow describes unthinkable toll

The family of one of the victims of an alleged massacre in a remote Queensland farming community has spoken of the “unthinkable” toll of the tragedy.

The tiny town of Bogie in Queensland’s Whitsunday region was rocked by the alleged “execution style” shootings of Mervyn Schwarz, 71, his wife Maree, 59, and her son Graham Tighe, 35, last Thursday.

The only survivor of the horror ordeal, Mr Tighe’s brother, Ross, managed to drive 40km to alert the police after allegedly being shot in the stomach.

He is now in a stable condition at Mackay Base Hospital after undergoing emergency surgery.

Long-time Bogie resident Darryl Young, 59, has been charged with three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder after allegedly shooting the family with a rifle during an early morning meet-up.

Mr Tighe’s partner Lucy Ahern, has been left widowed and their newborn son without a father.

“On the 4th of August 2022, Lucy’s life, and that of the Tighe and Schwarz families changed forever,” her family wrote on a fundraising page.

“Lucy’s partner Graham Tighe was shot and killed, alongside his mother Maree and step father Merv near their property in Bogie, Queensland. Graham and Lucy have a one year old daughter and newborn son. This horrific tragedy is unthinkable and will have forever changed all of their lives. Please help us to help Lucy by donating.”

The GoFundMe to support Ms Ahern has raised nearly $4000.

A separate GoFundMe to support Ross and his partner Kaitlyn has raised more than $14,000.

In the days following the tragedy, further details have emerged painting a picture of the complex circumstances surrounding the alleged attack.

A long-running dispute over property boundaries has been at the heart of the investigation into the alleged murders, with police alleging the attack occurred at Young’s front gate.

Stream your news live & on demand with Flash. From CNN International, Al Jazeera, Sky News, BBC World, CNBC & more. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

This is everything we know so far.

Gold claims and gun licence fight

Young was taken into police custody following the alleged murders and officially charged on Friday afternoon.

On Monday morning he appeared in Proserpine Magistrates Court via video link from the Whitsunday watch house in Cannonvale

No bail application was made and the case was adjourned to appear in Bowen Magistrates Court on November 1.

Details about Young’s past have come to light over the past few days, with tribunal documents revealing he had previously had his gun licence revoked by police.

However, the farmer successfully appealed the decision, claiming he needed it for his “business”.

Documents from the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) reveal Young was first granted a gun licence in 1992, which allowed him to hold four rifles and two shotguns.

In 2010 Queensland Police refused his bid to renew the licence. They argued it was “not in the public interest” for him to hold a licence.

In his appeal, Young he claimed he needed the guns to control feral animals on a property in Gladstone.

“There is no were (sic) in the laws of the gun laws that I have broken to stop me having a gun licence,” Young said in his application.

“I need my gun licence for my business. I hope the Tribunal over turns (sic) the decision so I can have my licence.”

The tribunal ruled in favour of Young, rejecting police arguments to refuse the renewal.

In another sneak peak at the Queensland farmer’s life before the charges were laid, it seems he had a keen interest in gold mining.

Years before the alleged attack, Young claimed to have found a series of gold nuggets, even posting pictures a large gold nugget and another of a series of smaller nuggets to his Facebook page.

“Some gold I found at Shannonvale this week since my exploration permits came threw (sic) won’t be working for much longer if this keeps up,” he wrote in October 2017.

The pictures he shared appeared to be a screenshot from a Google web page with the search term “gold nuggets” written in the bar at the top of the image.

Bogie, which has a population of just over 200 people, was founded during the gold rush in 1871.

By 1872 Normanby Goldfield, situated in the locality of Bogie, had attracted 300 miners to the area, resulting in a small settlement of three stores, a dairy, two butchers, a bakery, a blacksmith, and a hotel.

However, interest in the site waned over time due to the remoteness of the area and continued difficulties extracting gold.

$10m property at centre of dispute

The Schwarz family had only owned the property next to Young for just over a year before their alleged murders.

They purchased 30,000 hectares of land for $10 million in May 2021, which borders with Young’s 7700 hectare property.

The land is zoned for cattle grazing, breeding and farming purposes, which is what the family used it for.

It is understood the dispute about the boundary lines had been going on even before the Schwarz family moved to the region.

After buying the property, Mr Schwarz was reportedly warned about the ongoing dispute with Young, but believed he “could handle it”.

“He wasn’t arrogant about it,” one local, who asked not to be named, told the Courier Mail.

“He would have dealt with different neighbours and found different ways of handling these situations.

“He said ‘I’ve done my research … I think I can handle it’.”

It is alleged Schwarz family and Young had agreed to meet at the boundary between their properties on Thursday morning to discuss the dispute, which is when the accused allegedly shot all four members, killing three and leaving one seriously injured.

On Friday, Queensland Police Acting Superintendent Tom Armitt revealed the scene of the shooting was an hour-and-a-half away from Collinsville in a very remote area.

“We are talking properties of the size of tens of thousands of acres and between the two properties in question it’s actually a 45 minute drive between the neighbours,” he explained.

“At the crime scene, which is at the front gate of one of the promises, it is a 3km drive between the gate and the house at that location.”

“How it happened in this day and age is beyond me. It’s not America,” Maree Schwarz’s brother-in-law, Greg Austin, told the Daily Mail.

Mr Austen said he was completely shocked when he heard the news, describing his loved ones as an “honest Christian family”.

“They were a bush family who worked seven days a week and had beers on Sundays, participated in events, very community-minded and well-respected in the community. Just a normal Australian family,” he said.

Mr Austen told news.com.au he learned of the shooting through “dribs and drabs” from the rest of his family.

“I have sisters and that over there, or on their way there, and it was just what we were hearing from them. They obviously were talking to the police, and we just got information from them when we could,” he said.

How the situation unfolded

Emergency crews were called to a property in Bogie – a small outback mining town in the Whitsundays near Collinsville – at 8.54am on Thursday.

Three people were confirmed deceased after police were notified of reports that multiple people had been shot in the area.

After finding the sole survivor, Ross, in a vehicle at Flagstone, an emergency declaration was made at 11.30am under the Public Safety Preservation Act, with boundaries encompassing Sutherland Rd, Normanby Rd, Mount Compton Rd and Starvation Creek.

Police revealed Ross managed to alert police to the shooting after escaping the scene and miraculously travelling “many, many kilometres” while suffering from a gunshot wound.

“We believe that the male was able to extract himself from the area when he was spoken to by a police officer many, many kilometres away from the crime scene,” Acting Superintendent Armitt said on Thursday.

“He was fleeing from the scene … he was able to tell police that he had been shot and three others (were) also shot.”

Police were able to interview him on Thursday night after he was flown to Mackay Hospital in a critical condition and rushed into emergency surgery.

Police spoke to five other people on Thursday night in relation to the shooting.

Two of the people who were spoken to by police were reportedly wind farm contractors who happened to be near the property at the wrong time. They were released on Thursday night.

Two other people, believed to be family members of Young, were released from custody on Friday morning.

More Coverage

That same morning police revealed they “believed” they had the alleged shooter in custody.

Charges were laid against Young on Friday afternoon and he fronted court for the first time on Monday.

The case was adjourned and he will appear in Bowen Magistrates Court on November 1.

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7r7HWrGWcp51jrrZ7zZqroqeelrlwvdSenKernJa7pXvCq6CmnV%2Bqu7W0yKeimpqcmnq1vsCgoJxlmaK9oq%2FTZqafZZKktKqxjJ%2BYq6Vdoq60v8CcqZ5nnprEtHnSraarsV9lgaKwlmqYa25iaLOnrsFyaZ1qlpqwpK6YcWefa5Ztsw%3D%3D