The families of Corey Breton and Iuliana Triscaru were ‘shattered’ by the almost decade-long wait for justice, but now three men have been sentenced to life for the brutal murders
A man and woman were beaten, stabbed and bound before they were dumped in a toolbox, still alive, and thrown into a dam in a brutal murder.
Now, three men have been sentenced to life in prison for a second time over the horrific crime after their victims’ families faced an almost decade long wait for justice. Iuilana Triscaru and Corey Breton were brutally murdered in 2016, with a court hearing they were bound with cable ties and duct tape before being violently beaten, stabbed and choked. The pair were then forced into a two-metre metal toolbox where they remained trapped as some of those involved in the horrific attack drank whiskey and played video games.
Core, 28, and Iuliana, 31, were killed at Kingston in Logan, just south of Brisbane, on January 26, 2016. Today, Stou Daniels, Davy Malu Junior Taiao and Trent Michael Thrupp were handed life sentences with 30-year non-parole periods after they were found guilty of murder for a second time following a retrial.
Corey and Iuliana had been attacked over an alleged drug dispute before their bodies were found submerged in the murky waters of the dam, the court heard. Cleaning clothes and bleach were used to wipe bloodstains before being thrown into the toolbox, which was then loaded onto a HiLux pickup truck.
The court heard how loud music was reprotedly played to drown out the sound as the beaten pair struggled inside. The retrial was told Thrupp was either the one who dumped the toolbox, weighed down by concrete, into Scrubby Creek, or was present when it happened. Daniels and Taiao were also found to be responsible for putting the victims in the toolbox and contributing to their deaths.
When police found the pair’s bodies locked in the toolbox underwater two weeks later, they were in an advanced stage of decomposition, with evidence suggesting they were still alive when it was submerged. Eight people were charged in connection with the deaths, with some facing manslaughter convictions, while Tuhirangi-Thomas Tahiata, who drove the truck, was sentence to life in prison. His appeal was dismissed in 2024.
At today’s senencing, Corey’s partner, Miranda Parkinson, broke down in Queensland Supreme Court as she spoke of how her life had been impacted by having to deal with an initial mistrial, a fresh trial, an appeal and a retrail. She said: “For nine-and-a-half years, we have not been able to say goodbye properly.
“We have not been able to mourn because every time we have to relive that tale. It has been painful for everyone who loves Corey, but most of all, for our daughter.”
Corey and Miranda’s daughter was just three years old when her dad died. Miranda said: “She was constantly asking ‘where is dad, when is he coming home?’ I had to tell her, with tears running down my face, my voice trembling, that he would never be coming home.
“I had to tell her the truth ‘Daddy is dead, he has gone to the sky now, bad people had killed him’. We both cried together and I hugged her as tight as I could.”
Corey’s daughter gave a written statement to the court, which spoke of how she always noticed how other kids spoke about their dads. It said: “The word ‘dad’ is foreign to me… I don’t need grief or sorrow. I need my dad.”
A victim statement from Iuliana’s mum and family members said they had been “wounded” by the countless days in court before the convictions. It said: “Her senseless killing has left an unfillable void and inflicted wounds that continue to bleed.
“The unbearable reality is that we are forced to endure this legal process once again, every detail, every moment of fear and despair… inflicting fresh wounds on our already shattered souls.”
Justice Glenn Martin told the trio they had engaged in “appalling conduct”. Addressing them in court, he said: “It is difficult to imagine the immense terror that each felt in the hours leading up to their cruel deaths. The excoriating effects of what each of you has done has been memorably captured in the victim impact statements.”
The trio have already spent more than nine years in custody, which was counted as time served toward their sentence.