A Kia Stinger and a belly full of Jack Daniel’s: How a shoot-out in Beechworth unfolded

3 months ago 3

White supremacist Barry Butler was no stranger to guns when a man armed with one, and a silencer, crept up to his Beechworth bush block as sun fell on the outskirts of the regional gold rush town.

In the headlights of his black Kia Stinger sedan, antiques salesman Paul Flegel, 60, stood armed with a semi-automatic pistol and a belly full of Jack Daniel’s whiskey.

At the front door, a friend of Flegel’s reassured Butler, 63, they were just there to talk, as Butler squinted past him towards the Kia Stinger.

Seconds later, a hail of bullets rained down on the sprawling Buckland Gap Road home.

Butler, struck in the chest, ran from his home and sheltered under a ute parked in his shed, while grabbing his own gun and returning fire.

Both men lay bleeding. Only one would survive.

“I got a phone call about 6.30[pm], and I was told about it [the shooting], and I said, ‘Are you sure?’,” Indigo Shire Mayor Bernard Gaffney told ABC Local radio at the time.

During a summary inquest into Flegel’s death, coroner Leveasque Peterson heard the 60-year-old was raised in the Wangaratta and Beechworth areas before leaving school at 13 and becoming a carpenter.

In 1986, he moved to Upwey with his wife, but following a back injury, he was unable to work.

The following year, Flegel opened an antiques dealership, and his wife gave birth to a baby girl. However, the marriage was volatile and broke down a decade later.

In 2004, he returned to Beechworth, with a new partner, to help take care of his ageing parents.

Then health issues struck.

In 2013, Flegel was diagnosed with prostate cancer and became so unwell he closed his business in 2019.

“The cancer was graded stage 4,” Olivia Collings, counsel assisting the coroner, told the Coroner’s Court of Victoria this week.

Butler, who has white supremacist flags displayed outside his home, is currently in police custody after being arrested earlier this month on unrelated firearm charges.

Police allege he was manufacturing guns.

It is unclear how Flegel and Butler knew each other, but Flegel’s partner said there had been no bad blood between the two men. However, Flegel claimed Butler owed him money.

On October 27, 2022, after drinking Jack Daniel’s, Flegel began arguing with his partner. He then met up with some friends, where he raged about many Beechworth locals.

By 7pm, he was calling people up, including Butler.

“Go fuck yourself. Ring me in 10 seconds,” Flegel said on Butler’s voicemail.

Paul Flegel’s home at Oddfellows Hall, Beechworth.

Threatening messages continued to flood Butler’s voicemail, including “we’re coming. We’re going to fucking destroy you.”

Flegel and his friend, Tim Dwyer, left his home – the historic Oddfellows Hall – and walked across the road to the local IGA supermarket.

There, an employee says they heard Flegel say: “I’ve had enough of this, I’m going to fucking shoot him.”

At 8.15pm, Flegel and Dwyer drove to Butler’s home. Dwyer maintains he joined his friend only to mediate the conversation.

“Tim [Dwyer] knocked and spoke while Paul was in the car,” Collings said.

“Barry answered and asked if he was there to hurt him. Tim showed that he did not have weapons.”

“That sounds pretty full on. I’m just here to chat,” Dwyer replied.

When Butler invited Dwyer inside, Flegel exited the car, began screaming and fired his gun.

“Tim felt it pass his head. The bullet struck Barry in the chest, and Tim fled the scene towards a nearby dam. Barry returned fire,” Collings said.

“During the altercation, Barry fired three bullets and Paul five. Paul was shot to the right side while Barry retreated … hiding under a car in the shed and contacting emergency services.

“Paul retreated to his car and attempted to get into the driver’s seat but collapsed outside.”

Police arrived at 10.30pm and found Flegel dead. He’d been shot in the thigh, severing his femoral artery and causing fatal blood loss.

His blood alcohol reading was .17.

Butler was taken to The Alfred hospital where he later recovered from his injuries, including a bullet wound from his chest up into his arm.

No charges were laid over the death.

Acting Sergeant Brendan Stack told the coroner while there was no active investigation currently under way, the case could be reopened if further information came to light.

The coroner will hand down her findings at a later date.

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