Conrad Lardner

Introduction

Conrad Lardner, 51, has been sentenced to eight years and three months in prison over the fatal stabbing of his cousin David Vale outside a Kempsey property on the NSW Mid North Coast — a clash that began when Vale demanded a refund for “inferior quality drugs” Lardner had supplied him . Lardner was initially charged with the 2023 murder of his cousin, but in August 2026 a judge-alone trial found him not guilty of murder and guilty of manslaughter . He will be eligible for parole in 2031 .

Background Information

The fatal encounter took place on 1 March 2023, when Vale went to a Kempsey property to find out when Lardner would repay him for the low-quality drugs he had bought . Lardner told the court he expected to have money to repay Vale that day, saying he would come up to Vale’s place as soon as he got it — but that did not happen, and the visit turned into a fight . The case was heard by Justice Stephen Campbell of the Supreme Court at Port Macquarie in a judge-alone trial, which returned the manslaughter verdict in August 2026 .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Found guilty of manslaughter after a judge rejected murder; eight years and three months.

During the trial Lardner gave evidence that after a series of blows between the pair, he picked up a knife that had fallen out of Vale’s pocket . Justice Campbell ruled he was satisfied, on the balance of probabilities, that the knife came into Lardner’s possession after it fell onto the driveway — making it more likely, the judge said, that the stabbing was a spontaneous reaction — but he also found Lardner had the intent to inflict serious grievous bodily harm when he stabbed Vale twice, “the most extreme step available” . The judge found Vale was the initial aggressor, determined to fight if no refund was forthcoming, but that Lardner’s response to the perceived threat was unreasonable: he could have neutralised it by throwing the knife away rather than plunging it into the deceased . At the sentencing hearing on Friday, Justice Campbell told the court Vale had started the fight when Lardner continued to defy him over the refund .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The verdict divided responsibility between the two men: the court’s findings that the deceased initiated the confrontation and armed the fight, while the offender escalated it to a fatal stabbing, were reported as the core of the manslaughter outcome . The sentence — eight years and three months with parole eligibility in 2031 — was handed down at the Port Macquarie sitting of the Supreme Court and reported by the ABC’s Mid North Coast desk . No family statement was reported in the coverage .

Current Status

Lardner is serving his eight-years-and-three-months sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2031 . The manslaughter conviction stands in place of the murder charge he originally faced, the judge-alone trial having expressly acquitted him of murder .

Impact on Their Career/Life

Lardner, 51 at sentencing, faces more than seven further years of imprisonment before parole eligibility, with the manslaughter verdict and the court’s findings about his response to the confrontation now the legal record of the 2023 killing of his own cousin .

Sources

• “Conrad Lardner jailed for eight years over Kempsey stabbing manslaughter” — ABC News, 13 November 2026: source