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· collected 2026-09-04 · by Danielle Jesser, Chloe Chomicki, and Aimee Mitchell
Darryl Valroy Young, a convicted murderer from north Queensland, was recently found guilty of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. The victims were Mervyn Schwarz, 71, Maree Schwarz, 59, and Graham Tighe, 35, who were shot in the head with a .30-30 calibre rifle on August 4, 2022. Young had previously been jailed for cattle theft and was allegedly motivated by anger over missing calves from his property. The crime scene is near the boundary of two neighboring properties, with one of the signs on the gate referencing an "exclusion notice" from the sovereign citizen movement.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-05,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
This is where convicted murderer Darryl Valroy Young shot dead his three new neighbours and almost killed another on an August morning in 2022.
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Young → convict → 2022
Three padlocks on a thick chain keep unwanted visitors out and a large "no trespassing" sign warns that admittance is by invitation only.
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admittance → keep → invitation
The text on the "legal notice" sign is a template from the sovereign citizen movement proclaiming an "exclusion notice" applies to council officers, police, sheriffs and bailiffs with a minimum financial penalty of $10,000.
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notice → proclaim → 10,000
A fading yellow "smile you're on camera" sign is to the right of two trail cameras strapped to the fence; a reminder that you are being watched.
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you → fade → fence
It was here, in front of the gates, where the bodies of Mervyn, 71, and Maree Schwarz, 59, and her 35-year-old son, Graham Tighe, were found.
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bodies → find → Mervyn
They had been shot in the head with a .30-30 calibre rifle.
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They → shoot → rifle
The casings were found in the dirt.
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casings → find → dirt
Graham's brother, Ross Tighe, was also shot, but escaped and raised the alarm.
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brother → shoot → alarm
An 'angry' call
Darryl Young was found guilty in the Supreme Court in Townsville on Friday of three counts of murder and one count of attempted murder.
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Young → find → murder
During the course of the trial, the jury heard Young's anger towards his neighbours escalated over missing cattle.
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anger → hear → cattle
A phone call Graham Tighe received over a knock-off beer was recounted to the court by his best mate and cattle contract musterer Shane Dendle.
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Tighe → receive → mate
He heard Young use a loudspeaker to accuse the neighbours of stealing his calves as he had found some of his cows with full udders of milk but no calves.
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he → hear → milk
"He was angry," Mr Dendle said of Young's tone.
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Dendle → say → tone
"[Graham] said he's not pinching the calves, he has got enough on."
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he → say → enough
Then partner of Ross Tighe, Caitlin Jordan, said Young then demanded they meet.
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they → say → Tighe
"Darryl said, 'I'm sick of all this'," she recalled.
"
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she → say → this
He said, 'No you will meet me at the border of Shannonvale at the front'.
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you → say → front
Graham said, 'What time?'
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Graham → say → ?
Darryl said, '8am and it will be you, your brother, Merv and Maree, you will all be present'."
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you → say → ?
"He reiterated that about three times."
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He → reiterate → that
Ross Tighe said the family — amid a cattle muster — set off the following morning in two vehicles headed for Young's Shannonvale Station gate.
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family → say → gate
Riding with his brother, Ross Tighe said he fixed the clock in the LandCruiser ute and they arrived at the gate just before 8am on August 4, 2022, to find Young, already sitting in his Nissan Navara waiting, inside his property.
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they → rid → property
Ross Tighe said Young told Graham to hang a Shannonvale Station key on the gate — which he did before he and his brother sat in silence for 10 minutes awaiting their mother and stepfather.
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he → say → mother
When they arrived, Mervyn Schwarz approached Young for a handshake.
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Schwarz → arrive → handshake
"Darryl said, 'I won't shake your f***ing hand'," Ross Tighe said.
"
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Tighe → say → hand
He said that he saw cows of his with full udders of milk — implying that we were pinching his calves.
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we → say → calves
He said it made him feel sick.
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him → say → ?
"He said he would give us two weeks to give them back or he would do something about it."
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he → say → it
Family gunned down
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Family → gun → ?
Ross Tighe said the family denied the accusation then Young walked to the back driver's side door of his Navara.
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Young → say → Navara
"He didn't say anything he just walked to his car, just casually, and pulled out a gun," Mr Tighe said.
"
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Tighe → say → gun
He said, 'I'll end this once and for all.'
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I → say → all
"He shot Merv in the face, and I turned around to start running."
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I → shoot → face
He said he ran to take cover behind the family's two parked vehicles but was shot in the stomach before he reached them.
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he → say → them
"I saw Graham had been shot as well, he was on the ground, we made eye contact and he was making a noise like he was in pain," he said.
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he → see → pain
"I could see [Mum] from under the car, she had been shot, she was on her knees and holding her stomach area."
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she → see → area
Ross Tighe said he ran, covered himself in long grass and hid for about 10 minutes.
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he → say → minutes
He said during that time he heard two more gunshots before he made his way back up the slope he had run down while hiding behind trees.
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he → say → trees
He said Young and his Navara were gone and he could see his mother and Graham Tighe had both suffered gunshots to the head.
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mother → say → head
"I was telling myself on the way back they are all going to be dead.
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they → tell → way
…and 33 more, not listed.