A Tasmanian coroner has handed down findings into the death of a 58-year-old man who was brutally murdered and decapitated by his housemate in 2016.
Noel Joseph Ingham was killed by his tenant Darren Gale at a housing unit in Ulverstone.
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Gale removed and disposed of Ingham’s head, which has never been found despite extensive searches.
Coroner Leigh Mackey said Gale likely cut off Ingham’s head “to hide the cause and manner of his death” after fatally attacking him with blunt force.
Her recent findings reveal Ingham’s body was identified through fingerprints after it was discovered buried in a shallow bush grave in forest at Dulverton, in Tasmania’s north-west.
“Due to the absence of the head, a visual identification of the body as being that of Mr Ingham was not possible,” Coroner Mackey stated.
The coroner adopted evidence from Gale’s murder trial, which heard the two men had only known each other casually for about two years after meeting at the Burnie Lodge.
Ingham lived alone in his two-bedroom unit and had plans to breed dogs.
Tensions rose after Gale moved into the spare room and became “attached to the environment and living arrangements which were more comfortable than he was used to”.
Mackey found Gale also eyed “a financial opportunity to obtain a carer’s payment from Centrelink”, even though Ingham did not need care and was living independently.
“Mr Ingham regretted renting his second bedroom to Mr Gale,” her findings stated.
Both men had alcohol problems, with Gale returning to heavy drinking after moving in.
After the murder, Gale went to great lengths to cover his tracks. He buried the body, sent fake text messages from Ingham’s phone and got rid of his belongings.
He also killed Ingham’s two dogs, dumped and burnt his car and made it hard to pin down the exact date of death.
The last confirmed sighting of Ingham was on July 22, 2016, when he attended a medical appointment with Gale. Phone and bank records suggest he died around July 28.
A forensic pathologist said the likely causes of death included blunt head trauma with decapitation or sharp force injuries to the head or neck.
A single defensive wound on Ingham’s hand showed he tried to fight back, but the missing head made it impossible to confirm the exact cause.
“The decapitation and subsequent burial of Mr Ingham were indications that his death, albeit undetermined, was suspicious,” the findings stated.
Gale was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 23 years’ jail, with a minimum 14-year non-parole period, in November 2016.
His appeal against the conviction was dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal on May 13, 2024.
