A 19-year-old man — who is accused alongside his father of the “cold-blooded execution” of a “defenceless man” — has had his bail application dismissed by the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Key points:

  • Marco Anthony Yandle and his father, Keith Russell Yandle, were charged with the murder of Steven Murphy in April
  • The son’s application for bail was dismissed in the South Australian Supreme Court on Friday
  • He will face court again in October

Marco Anthony Yandle, 19, and his father, Keith Russell Yandle, 46, were charged with the murder of missing man Steven Murphy, whose remains were found under a shed in an underground bunker in April.

A court previously heard that the 19-year-old accompanied his father with a baseball bat “to confront an intruder” at their Kudla property in Adelaide’s north.

Prosecutor Lucy Boord KC previously said that CCTV footage allegedly showed the father discharging an unlicensed firearm several times at a “defenceless” Steven Murphy, while the younger man illuminated the victim holding a torch.

“What is seen on that footage amounts, essentially, to the cold-blooded execution of an unarmed, vulnerable and defenceless man,” Ms Boord previously told a court.

The 19-year-old was previously denied bail by a magistrate in April, before making an application to the Supreme Court.

Steven Murphy’s remains were found at a property in Kudla, north of Adelaide.(Supplied: Instagram)

Marco Yandle’s mother dropped her head in her hands as Justice Sandi McDonald dismissed the 19-year-old’s application for bail on Friday.

Justice McDonald told the court that she had watched the CCTV, which captured the alleged offending, and determined that Marco Yandle did not have special circumstances to be granted bail.

“What I have seen on the footage provides an appropriate and proper basis to lay the charge of murder,” Justice McDonald said.

“Ultimately, it will not matter what I make of the CCTV footage, it will be for the trial of fact to determine,” she said.

“For that reason, I do not propose to express my view about what can be seen on the footage.”

The justice said she did not accept the characterisation of Marco Yandle’s conduct made by his representative, Mark Norman KC.

Defence lawyer Stephen Ey told the media that the Yandle family “were disappointed” by the decision to deny bail.(ABC News: Lincoln Rothall)

Ms Boord previously told a court that there was concern the son could interfere with the ongoing investigation if he was granted bail and said there was evidence that the applicant had “destroyed evidence from his mobile phone”.

Justice McDonald described the charges as “serious” and told the court that Marco Yandle’s age and lack of criminal history did not amount to “special circumstances”.

“Given that murder is the most serious charge on the criminal calendar, it is an offence committed in a vast range of circumstances by people from many different walks of life,” she said.

“It is not uncommon for a person charged with murder to be of previous good character, appearing in court for the first time.”

Leaving court alongside the 19-year-old’s family, defence lawyer Stephen Ey told the media that “they were disappointed” by the decision.

Marco Yandle will remain in custody and will face court again with his father, Keith, in October.