On 12 August, Morris and Jones rode up to Melaityappa and shot him in the arm, foot and back. On 22 August, Protector Moorhouse met with Melaityappa. Melaityappa was taken to Adelaide and operated on by the Colonial Surgeon. He died on 31 August 1849. Jones and Morris were tried at the Supreme Court and charged with wilful murder. Both men were acquitted by Judge Mann.
(See 'The South Australian Frontier and its Legacies' for more details.)