A Queensland jury has found 60-year-old landlord Brett Gordon Williams guilty of manslaughter in connection with the death of his tenant, 62-year-old Craig Dunn, at an industrial complex in Hervey Bay in April 2022.
Williams, who managed the complex where both men lived and operated businesses, was originally charged with murder but was convicted on the lesser charge after a lengthy trial in the Supreme Court at Maryborough. Sentencing has been scheduled for a later date.
Dunn’s body was discovered beneath a mezzanine floor inside one of the units at the complex. An autopsy revealed he had suffered a collapsed lung caused by broken ribs, as well as a broken nose, facial lacerations, and a dislocated elbow. No witnesses saw the fatal injuries being inflicted.
During the trial, jurors heard that tensions had long simmered between the two men. On the morning of Dunn’s death, Williams said the pair had argued near a gas-fitting shed. He admitted to striking Dunn twice in what he claimed was self-defence after Dunn allegedly made a threatening gesture.
CCTV footage captured a confrontation between the two at 6:32am, showing Williams standing over Dunn. This was the last known sighting of Dunn alive. His body was found about 90 minutes later.
The trial revealed that shortly after the altercation, Williams removed and disposed of the CCTV cameras from Dunn’s shed and hid Dunn’s phone in nearby gardens. While the phone was later recovered by police, the footage from the cameras was never retrieved.
Williams claimed that when he returned to the shed, he found Dunn alive but severely injured. He testified that Dunn responded to him briefly before losing consciousness. Emergency services were called, but Dunn was pronounced dead at the scene.
The prosecution argued Williams’s actions went beyond self-defence and suggested the CCTV footage was destroyed to hide evidence of a more prolonged assault. The court also heard that the men had a strained relationship, including past arguments over surveillance and a dispute involving a pet cat.
Williams’s defence pointed to what they described as significant flaws in the police investigation. Key evidence, including a doorknob and hair found in Dunn’s hand, was not initially subjected to DNA testing. Later tests indicated that the doorknob did not contain Williams’s DNA, and the hair was unlikely to be his.
Williams’s legal team suggested the possibility of another assailant or that Dunn may have fallen from the mezzanine by accident. However, the jury was ultimately persuaded by the prosecution’s case and returned a verdict of manslaughter late Friday.
Following the decision, Williams was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing, which is expected to take place in May.
