David Lee Tan is one of several people linked to the deaths of Lachlan Griffiths and Andrew Walsh, who were killed months apart at a Coopers Plains business in 2021 and 2022.

Mr Walsh’s body was found buried in concrete at the workplace, while Mr Griffiths’ remains were never found. Both men were 35 years old.

Lachlan’s brother, Samuel Saxby, condemned Tan for the pain he had caused their family and for depriving them of “their son, their brother, their father and their uncle”.

“You have no right to play God,” Mr Saxby said as Tan bowed his head and pressed his hands to his face.

“I hope what you did haunts you for the rest of your life, but I don’t believe it will.

“I don’t believe you will ever understand the extent of the pain and suffering inflicted on us.”

At an earlier hearing, Tan pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths and being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Mr Walsh.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the Supreme Court in Brisbane was told Mr Walsh was allegedly killed at work by Tan’s co-defendants Joshua Robert Searston and Dewald De Klerk on November 8, 2021.

Mr. Searston and Mr. De Klerk’s cases are ongoing in the courts and they have not yet entered a plea to the charges.

Tan became involved by taking Mr Walsh upstairs at work and cleaning the premises following the alleged assault.

Crown prosecutor Chris Cook said Tan then discussed how to dispose of Mr Walsh’s body and decided to bury it in a pit, which was later covered with concrete.

Then his bloody clothes were burned.

Andrew Walsh’s father said he was filled with a deep sense of loss after learning of his son’s “senseless” death when he read the victim impact statement.

“As survivors, we walk in a parallel universe every day,” she said, acknowledging that no punishment could bring her son back.

The court was told Tan was responsible for the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths after he was brutally attacked by another man, Filip Grbavac, at the same workplace just a few months later in January 2022.

Mr Griffiths was last seen alive on January 17 of the same year.

Mr Cook said Tan was in the room where Mr Griffiths was killed and had pictures of his body wrapped in plastic on his phone.

More photos showed blood all over the walls.

Mr Cook said Tan was more culpable in Mr Griffith’s manslaughter because he had “supported” Grbavac and helped clean up the facility.

Tan was described by Mr Cook as “an unrepentant man”.

In messages to someone else that night, Tan laments the “dramas” in his relationship but says: “If you can catch him (Griffiths), fuck it, I’ll be more than happy to come with you bro, let some loose.” this (sic) fucking rage.”

Reading his statement, Mr Saxby described Tan as “pathetic” and said no amount of time spent in prison would be enough justice for the family.

“It will never erase or ease our pain,” he said.

Mr Griffiths’ mother, Bernadette Saxby, burst into tears as she recalled the moment she was shown photos of her son’s body.

“This is beyond what a mother should ever have to endure,” she said.

“This is beyond my understanding of how people can treat each other.”

Ms Saxby said the family would never stop looking for their son and believing he would be brought home, vowing to “repair, love and care for each other”.

Tan’s defense lawyer, Malcolm Harrison, said his client was heavily involved in drugs at the time and his marriage collapsed.

Numerous supportive references and a letter of apology from Tan’s family were presented to the court.

“(Tan) was living a desolate lifestyle at work,” Mr Harrison said.

Supreme Court Justice Frances Williams reserved her decision and will issue her decision at a later date.

“The sentence comes after another man, Billy Lee Bornstein, pleaded guilty on Monday to the manslaughter of Mr Griffiths.

The court was told Bornstein lured the 35-year-old into the job at Coopers Plains under the guise of a drug deal and played a key role in Grbavac’s “reach” to Mr Griffiths.

Like Tan, Bornstein was not involved in the deadly attack.

During his sentencing, Bornstein apologized to the Griffiths family and said he never intended to hurt anyone.

Bornstein read from a handwritten note: “I understand that this has been difficult for Mr. Griffiths’ family, but it has also been very difficult for me.”

“I spent many nights awake wondering how Mr Griffiths’ family felt.”

Grbavac, who was accused of murdering Mr Griffiths, died in prison following an alleged attack by his cellmate.

Originally published as: Court told of business owner David Lee Tan’s acts of horror to kill men Andrew Walsh and Lachlan Griffiths