A man’s prompt admission of guilt in the murder of a tradesman, whose body was subsequently concealed in a metal container due to an alleged $50,000 drug debt, has significantly reduced his prison sentence.

On April 27, 2023, 22-year-old Darcy Schafer-Turner lost his life after being placed in a chokehold, bound with duct tape, and restrained by two individuals in a Sydney apartment.

Asphyxiating on his vomit, Schafer-Turner could not be resuscitated at the Peakhurst location, leading to his body being sealed in a box and discarded in a creek.

Today, Zachary Richard Fraser, aged 24, received a six-and-a-half-year prison sentence for his role in the manslaughter.

Fraser, along with an accomplice who has since fled to Germany and remains unnamed due to legal restrictions, believed Schafer-Turner was indebted to them for a $50,000 drug-related sum.

They lured him to the unit, saying they had cocaine for him to on-sell.

“There is someone laying on the floor in my bathroom dead,” Fraser wrote to an acquaintance on messaging app Signal.

“It was an accident. I only meant to tie him up.”

The man, whom Fraser had met through online gaming and also cannot be legally named, then reached out to a “cleaner” in Queensland.

Charles Dennis Turnbull, 36, caught a flight to Sydney and met the victim’s attackers, joining them in a trip to Bunnings for a metal cabinet.

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.

A missing persons report and subsequent police investigation led to the discovery of Schafer-Turner’s body in a creek south of Macksville on May 12.

Fraser was arrested three days later.

While there had been an attempt to revive Schafer-Turner, neither of his two attackers called emergency services for help, Justice Nicholas Chen said.

Fraser took further steps of contacting the “cleaner” to try and cover up the crime, the judge said.

The 24-year-old’s arguments that what occurred was “essentially spontaneous” were rejected by the judge who pointed out it had been spurred on by the perceived drug debt.

The incident had caused pain for the loved ones of the 22-year-old victim, described as a funny, caring young man with an adventurous spirit who was unconditionally loved.

“The taking of Darcy Schafer-Turner’s life is a tragedy that has caused profound grief and sorrow to his family and those close to him,” the judge said.

But Fraser’s sentence was reduced because of his lack of a criminal record, his prior good character and an early guilty plea.

He had shown genuine remorse, accepting responsibility for the death and was unlikely to re-offend when released, Justice Chen found.

His time in custody would be made more onerous by his diagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, persistent depressive disorder and dependent personality disorder.

But the judge dismissed arguments the latter disorder – which manifests as clingy behaviour and submissiveness – spurred on the unlawful and dangerous attack.

The 24-year-old claimed the disorder meant he went along with the scheme at the other man’s request.

With time served, Fraser will be eligible for release in July 2027 after being behind bars for four years and two months.

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

His two-year non-parole period expired in May.