Naman Shrestha
Feuds have a way of turning a molehill into a mountain, resulting in severe injury to one or the other. In 2017, 51-year-old Kevin Skeyhill was brutally murdered in the small town of Tungkillo in Australia, shocking the entire community to its core, including his family. The entire case and the investigation that ensued are covered in detail in Investigation Discovery’s ‘Fear Thy Neighbor: Murder In The Outback,’ which also features insightful interviews with the victim’s loved ones and the officials connected to the investigation.
Kevin Skeyhill Was Found Dead Near His Tungkillo Property
Recently separated from his wife, Kevin Skeyhill relocated to the small Adelaide Hills town of Tungkillo, hoping to start afresh. Despite his estrangement from his partner, he still maintained a healthy bond with his children — a son named Nicholas “Nick” Skeyhill and a daughter named Marlee Skeyhill. Described as a kind-hearted and compassionate man, Kevin was also a doting father who took his kids on long drives and was there for them through thick and thin. Everything seemed to be looking up but fate had different ideas for him. On the fateful night of September 13, 2017, around 10:30 pm, the father of two was found dead in the driveway of his neighbor’s house on Adelaide Road in Tungkillo.
When the police were called, they inspected his body and crime scene thoroughly, looking for clues that could lead them to the killer. They realized that 51-year-old Kevin was stabbed multiple times with an eight-inch hunting knife. Following the tragedy, his son Nick reminisced the memories he had with his father and told the Advertiser, “When I was a kid we would go on long drives sometimes up to an hour away and even though we where 100km from home he knew all the local farmers and publicans by name. Still to this day that amazes me.” He elaborated, “I couldn’t have asked for a better role model to help me become the man I am today and I will miss him forever with all my heart.”
Kevin Skeyhill’s Feud With a Neighbor Turned Out to be Fatal For Him
Several weeks prior to his demise, Kevin Skeyhill and his neighbor Darren Lorke started arguing over fencing and stormwater drainage as the latter demanded that Kevin fix his drainage system as the water used to flood his yard. As the feud got heated over the weeks, Kevin set up a couple of CCTV cameras around his property after he noticed his neighbor carrying a rifle with him. Apart from installing “no trespassing” signs and floodlights, he also complained to the police about the firearm but in vain. In order to stop the drainage water from entering his property, Darren reportedly dug a trench in Kevin’s yard. In response, the latter dug up his neighbor’s yard and even threw chunks of dirt from the yard onto his front door.
Fast forward to the night of the murder, Kevin returned to his home with his friend heavily drunk and found that his neighbor was allegedly waiting for him on his property, hidden behind a bush. When he followed him and went to confront him, Darren reportedly stabbed him multiple times on his property and dialed 911, claiming that he had hurt his neighbor in self-defense. Until the police arrived, he allegedly performed CPR on the severely wounded man. Right after they reached the crime scene, the authorities handcuffed 52-year-old Darren Lorke and took him into custody for murdering his neighbor.
Darren Lorke is Currently Incarcerated at an Australian Prison
Since Darren Lorke decided to plead not guilty to murder, the case went to court. In 2018, he stood on trial for the murder of Kevin Skeyhill. The prosecution claimed that the killer got rid of the security cameras from the victim’s property before the stabbing and was ready with a knife in his possession, intending to ambush his neighbor. They argued that the defendant had already admitted to stabbing Kevin to death, but pretended to have acted in self-defense. On the other hand, the defense argued that Darren was armed because he was in fear for his life and attacked Kevin in self-defense, thinking that he and his friend were attacking him.
A couple of weeks later, the jury took some time to deliberate and returned with a guilty verdict, convicting Darren Lorke of the murder charge. The judge stated, “In my view it matters not whether the two of them were on your property confronting you or whether it was just the deceased confronting you. The matter is they were both unarmed and both very drunk and would have not been any threat to you at all … the jury verdict is consistent with you clearly knowing that.” In early February 2019, Darren was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his crimes, which was reduced to 19 years since he had already served a year.
After the sentencing, the victim’s son, Nick, expressed his grief in front of the court, saying, “To tell the truth, there is no possible way to summarise the full impact it has had on my life. That’s because my father being taken away from me in such a horrific nature has changed my life forever. Because of Darren Lorke’s actions I will never see my beautiful dad again.” Meanwhile, Kevin’s daughter, Marlee, also opened up about the loss of her father. “It’s set like concrete, like a cancer in my heart,” she said. Nick was relieved to see the killer of his father finally behind bars. He told ABC News, “There’s no real winners but it’s a lot of weight off the shoulders, we are just going to try and rebuild from here.” As of today, Darren Lorke is serving his sentence in an Australian prion facility, awaiting his parole eligibility date.
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