Matthew Paul Wiggins, the man accused of gunning down Darko Janceski in 2012, has been committed to stand trial for murder.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Blackbutt man, who appeared before Kiama Local Court on Wednesday for a committal hearing, is facing one charge of murder, as well as a second charge of grievous bodily harm with intent for allegedly assaulting Mr Janceski’s father, Slobodan.
It’s alleged that Wiggins rode a motorbike to the Janceskis’ Berkeley home on April 4, 2012, and shot Darko Janceski, who died from his injuries.
Mr Janceski’s father raced to the front of the house and became embroiled in a violent struggle, knocking off the shooter’s helmet and sunglasses, before the balaclava-clad man fled.
Crown prosecutor Jennifer Price said DNA evidence would form a key element of the case against Wiggins.
The court heard samples of Wiggins’ DNA were found inside the helmet and inside the arms of the sunglasses left at the scene, although not on the gun used in the shooting.
‘‘The critical point is that it’s found on two different items,’’ Ms Price told the court.
The court heard it was widely suspected Mr Janceski was responsible for the murder of Goran Nikolovski, a friend of Wiggins.
Defence lawyer Avni Djemal said DNA from numerous individuals was found on the items, belonging to any number of people with motive to kill Mr Janceski.
He told the court Mr Janceski had many enemies, having fallen out with the Commancheros who had put out a ‘‘hit’’ on him, and also from his dealings as a standover man stealing money from drug dealers.
‘‘[Wiggins] has never made a comment in any way that he wanted to harm the deceased,’’ Mr Djemal said.
He also told the court a motorbike that police claim was bought by a friend of Wiggins for the shooting had a different engine number to a motorbike found burnt out in the days following Mr Janceski’s death.
Ms Price said the inconsistency was likely because of a typographical error made by the Roads and Traffic Authority when two numbers were inadvertently swapped.
The magistrate, Mark Richardson, agreed to continue Wiggins’ current bail and ordered him to appear before the Sydney Supreme Court in February for arraignment.
