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Max Aldred

Man extradited over grisly drug-debt killing

A man accused over the fatal assault of a Sydney tradesman has been extradited from Poland. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE FORCE)

A man will face court, extradited from Poland to Australia over alleged involvement in the grisly death of a young tradesman.

Darcy Schafer-Turner, 22, was put in a chokehold, tied up and pinned down in a Sydney apartment where he suffocated on his own vomit in April 2023, a court previously found.

The incident was related to a perceived drug debt. 

Darcy Schafer-Turner arrives at the Peakhurst unit where he was killed
Darcy Schafer-Turner was allegedly lured to a home unit and fatally assaulted. (HANDOUT/SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES)

Mr Schafer-Turner was stuffed into a metal box, driven to Macksville on NSW's mid-north coast and dumped in a creek. 

Two men were sentenced in relation to the incident in 2024 and 2025.

Detectives from NSW's homicide squad travelled to Poland last Sunday to extradite a 26-year-old man after Polish authorities arrested him.

Upon arriving at Sydney International Airport on Friday, the man was taken to Mascot Police Station and charged with murder. 

He was expected to front bail court on Saturday.

As part of investigations, two men aged 22 and 33 at the time were charged over the alleged killing. 

The younger, Zachary Richard Fraser, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for manslaughter in October 2025.

Image tendered as evidence by the Supreme Court of New South Wales
Darcy Schafer-Turner's body was stuffed into a metal cabinet and dumped in an upstate creek. (HANDOUT/SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES)

Police alleged Fraser and another man believed Mr Schafer-Turner owed a drug debt of $50,000. 

They lured him to a unit with the promise of cocaine for him to sell on, before plans went awry.

Fraser wrote to an acquaintance that a man was dead on his bathroom floor, saying "it was an accident; I only meant to tie him up", the court was told.

It was then a "cleaner" in Queensland, Charles Dennis Turnbull, was contacted. 

He flew to Sydney and met Fraser and allegedly another man, joining them to buy a large metal cabinet from a Bunnings store. 

Mr Schafer-Turner's body was then placed in the metal cabinet, loaded onto the back of a ute and driven five hours' north to Macksville by Turnbull.

Turnbull, acting on a $30,000 offer, was later paid $20,000 by Fraser for his services.

Turnbull pleaded guilty to being an accessory to manslaughter and was sentenced to a maximum of three years and three months' jail in December 2024.

Homicide Squad detectives extradite man from Poland
The 26-year-old man was taken to a Sydney police station and charged with murder. (HANDOUT/NSW POLICE FORCE)

Police investigating drug supply in southern Sydney in 2023 allegedly identified links to the hunt for Mr Schafer-Turner.

Inquiries led them to Warrell Creek in Macksville, where they discovered the large metal cabinet.

Police described their inquiries as "extensive and ongoing" in a statement on Saturday morning.

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