Ziggy Vanags: Co-conspirator in mum’s Byford dog park murder has jail term slashed for revealing bush grave

A 27-year-old who took part in the grisly killing of a mother of six after luring her to a Byford dog park has been handed a reduced jail term for showing police her bush grave. Nardia Spice was aged 40 when Zach Brough used a pipe wrench to strike her to the head in the early hours of September 23, 2022. Brough had enticed her to the park with the promise of drugs — in exchange for sexual services — and used bleach in a bid to destroy evidence of their encounter in a parked car. Supreme Court of WA Justice Amanda Forrester described that as a “grotesque desecration” of her body. The court was told it was a revenge attack after Ms Spice stripped and threatened Brough’s then-partner Eve Marsh, and also took tools and a vehicle from their share-house. During the planned attack, Marsh was waiting nearby in a different vehicle with Ziggy Vanags, who was sentenced on Monday. Ms Spice had her hands bound with cable ties, was swaddled in a doona cover and bundled into a car boot before being dumped in bushland in Whitby. She was later taken to Jarrahdale and buried, wrapped in plastic. Vanags involvement included throwing the murder weapon, which he washed with bleach, into Mundaring Weir. It was spotted floating in a bag containing other items used in the crime by a Water Corp worker. Soon after their arrest, Vanags showed police the burial site and made disclosures that helped prompt admissions from the others. Prosecutor Paul Usher questioned whether Ms Spice’s body would have been found otherwise. Due to decomposition, a pathologist was unable to determine if Ms Spice died from head injuries and “an element of asphyxiation cannot be ruled out as a contributor”, Justice Forrester said. It was a “senseless and gratuitous act of violence” against a defenceless victim who was subject to multiple degrading indignities, forever leaving her children “with the violent manner of their mother’s death”, the judge said. Outside court, grieving father Stephen Spice described his daughter as caring. “She went through a lot ... we tried to be there for her,” he told reporters. Mr Usher said Brough, Marsh and Vanags had formed a common intent to seriously assault Ms Spice, and while Brough had made his own decision to go further, death was a probable consequence of the plot. Brough was convicted of murder and sentenced in March to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 21 years. Vanags was convicted of manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years behind bars, with parole eligibility after five years. The term was “markedly less” than it would have been had they not cooperated with police, Justice Forrester said. She said Vanags took part to maintain access to drugs through Marsh and was also concerned how Brough, who “had a tendency towards significant violence”, would react if they didn’t. Marsh will be sentenced for manslaughter on July 24, when Jesse Jones, who was an accessory, will also learn their fate.