How a brutal murder and shambolic farming operation exposed a dark underbelly on the Taranaki coast

A brutal crime that exposed the dark underbelly of coastal Taranaki took place on a shambolic farm operation overseen by a controversial farmer known for his blatant disregard for the rules of law.

Francis Mullan, 74, owns nine farms across dozens of property titles and on July 29 last year, one of those properties became the primary crime scene of the savage murder of his worker Jacob Ramsay.

Employed by Mullan for less than a month, Ramsay was violently beaten and dragged to his death along a gravel track by enraged workmates William Candy and Ethan Webster, following a string of unpaid drug debts and accusations he had been stealing farm gear.

Last month, their accomplice Jodie Hughes was found guilty of the 33-year-old’s manslaughter, at the conclusion of a two-week High Court trial, which catalogued a plague of issues on the farm, including substance abuse, violence and evidence from Mullan himself about his hands-off approach to dealing with disputes between his workers.

Mullan himself is no stranger to the courtroom.

He has faced prosecution several times in the past for breaching resource consents on his properties, and was once described by a judge as someone who saw himself as “too important” to follow the rules.

The Rāhotu man, who is linked to 57 property titles, either under his name, or as sole director of Mullanville Farms Limited, has also been fined in the past for an animal welfare breach and faced criticism from a coroner who oversaw the case of 3-year-old girl who drowned in an effluent pond on one of his farms.

Mullan, who employs about 20 staff, also loomed large during Hughes’ trial, where it was revealed he encountered Candy and Webster on the tanker track shortly after they dumped Ramsay near the rubbish pit, where he died.

Ramsay, a father-of-three, was later found to have suffered more than 30 blunt force injuries to his head and body.

At the trial, Mullan recounted how he drove to Kina Rd on the evening of July 29, 2022, after he was alerted to what he called a “drama” at the property.

Mullan said when he spoke briefly to Candy and Webster, they told him Ramsay was “alright” and was in the paddock near the dump site.

Thinking there had just been a fight, Mullan then turned his car around and drove home, making no attempt to check on Ramsay that night, or during the following two days, despite knowing he may have suffered harm, and had also failed to show up for work.

Mullan also told the court the day after the track encounter, he noticed an injury to Candy’s face, and that Webster’s knuckles were grazed.

While Mullan said it never crossed his mind that Candy and Webster could be capable of killing anyone, evidence given during the trial by other witnesses painted farm life as shambolic.

Arguments between co-workers were common, at times spiralling into violence.

Alcohol was sometimes consumed during milking times, and Mullan had also been aware illicit drugs were being used by his workers, including Ramsay and Webster’s abuse of P.

Under questioning, Mullan told the court he chose not to get involved in issues which cropped up between his workers, which he referred to at one point as “tiffs”, preferring to stay out of it.

While Ramsay’s trail of debt had been one supposed catalyst for the crime, another was the threats Mullan had made to dock workers’ pay if nobody came forward to take responsibility for missing property on the farm.

One of the most shocking elements of the crime was the number of people who knew something had happened to Ramsay, but never checked on his welfare or alerted authorities to what happened.

Evidence given by at least one trial witness highlighted a “no-nark” culture on Mullan’s farm, including in the wake of the murder, due to fear of repercussions.

While some might consider this a moral failing, Taranaki police have ruled out any criminal charges being laid against anyone else in relation to Ramsay’s killing.

Detective Inspector Brent Matuku, who is a field crime manager for the central district, said police had looked at all the circumstances which took place between July 29-31 last year, which spanned the period when Ramsay went missing to the day his body was found.

He said, following consultation with the Crown prosecutor, the appropriate charges were laid, and no other action was being considered in relation to anyone else.

Matuku was not willing to comment on Mullan’s farming practices, nor would he confirm or deny whether charges were looked into in relation to any breaches of health and safety obligations to staff.

Questions were put to WorkSafe regarding Mullan’s health and safety track record, but it advised the request would have to be dealt with under the Official Information Act.

Attempts to talk to Mullan about the case, and his role as an employer, have been unsuccessful.

This has included a visit to his last known address in South Taranaki, an attempt to call him on a landline previously connected to him, and through a direct message left with a relative.

Sources who have provided information to the Taranaki Daily News by way of background, have described Mullan as a difficult character, who has been known to butt heads on a regular basis with those in charge of on-farm compliance, including Taranaki Regional Council (TRC).

Mullan’s missteps in terms of resource consent breaches date back nearly 25 years.

In what was the most significant action taken against him to date by TRC, Mullan was fined $66,000 in 2015 after being found guilty in the Environment Court of discharging effluent into groundwater and a stream on his farm.

At the time, the sentencing judge was scathing of Mullan, calling him a person who saw himself as “too important to be part of the rules and responsibilities that apply to the rest of the farming world”.

In 2017, Mullan was fined $5000 for an animal welfare breach after he failed to treat a steer’s wound, which left it in pain and distress for three months.

Eight years earlier, Mullan was in the media spotlight, when coroner Tim Scott criticised him for failing to properly fence a property around one of his farm houses, following the drowning of Summer Frank, 3, in an effluent pond.

The coroner outlined how Mullan had agreed for the work to be done, but never followed through, something the farmer later said he regretted.

Taranaki Federated Farmers president Mark Hooper would not comment specifically about Mullan, except to highlight the case as an “extreme” one.

“This is definitely a rogue situation, and one that’s outside the norm.”

For her role in Ramsay’s death, Hughes will be sentenced on October 20.

Candy, 40, and Webster, 19, each pleaded guilty to Ramsay’s murder, and are currently serving life terms in prison.

However, the teen is heading to the Court of Appeal to challenge his sentence.