The killer of a disabled gay man, whose decomposing body was found bound and gagged on the ensuite floor of his Mooroobool home, has admitted to causing the death for the first time. Terrence Steven Arthur Barallon pleaded guilty to manslaughter but not guilty to murder in the Cairns Supreme Court this morning. Police went to Robert Duffy’s Dodd St home on February 20 last year to perform a welfare check at the request of his ex-wife who hadn’t been able to reach him for a few days. Outside they noticed a large number of flies at the window of a room which turned out to be Mr Duffy’s ensuite — inside, they found the 62-year-old dead on the floor. “His death was a brutal one,” Crown prosecutor Todd Fuller said. Mr Duffy’s feet were bound with a stereo cord, his hands with a cord from an iron and there was a belt pulled tight around his neck. Yellow twine was also wrapped around his legs, torso and neck. “There was packaging tape wound around his head covering his eyes and a piece of paper tissue found stuffed into his mouth,” Mr Fuller said. The court heard he had skull and rib fractures consistent with crush injuries. Mr Barallon was Mr Duffy’s live-in carer — he’d answered an ad on Gumtree. The court heard that Mr Barallon had told others that he was unhappy living in the home and that Mr Duffy was “sick in the head because he’d come home to find him masturbating to porn with his (Mr Barallon’s) dog inside the house”. The court heard that Mr Barallon had access to Mr Duffy’s three cars and also his bank card. Mr Duffy’s blood was found on Mr Barallon’s shoe. The court heard he told police that Mr Duffy had made sexual advances towards him on a couple of occasions. Defence barrister Josh Trevino, while questioning neighbour Stuart Buchanan, asked if he’d ever noticed any harsh words spoken between Mr Barallon and Mr Duffy. He said, “not really, no”. Mr Fuller said the plea of guilty to manslaughter was the first time Mr Barallon has openly admitted to authorities that he was responsible for the death. “The trial is no longer about who did it, it’s about how and why and what was in (Mr Barallon’s) mind at the time,” he said. Mr Barallon has also pleaded guilty to stealing, fraud and unlawful use of a motor vehicle charges relating to using Mr Duffy’s bank car and vehicles. The trial continues.
