On Tuesday evening, Michael McGurk watched his two young sons drop handmade parachutes off the second-storey balcony of a neighbour's unit. "It was a science experiment, they had to judge how long things took to get down," neighbour Lyn McCarron said."Michael was outside, watching them drop ... every moment he wasn't working he was with his kids." Two days later, the younger of those boys watched his father take a single bullet in the driveway of their multimillion-dollar Cremorne home. The nine-year-old had to run inside and tell his mother something was wrong with "daddy". "It's just horrible that they do it in front of the children and in front of the family home and everything," Mrs McCarron said. "They were just a very happy family, I just can't believe that some low-life could come and do this."Mr McGurk's mother-in-law, Noreen McDonald, said her nine-year-old grandson ran to his mother Kimberly for help after the shooting."The little boy came running in screaming, saying 'Mummy, mummy, mummy, quickly, daddy'" Ms McDonald told reporters. "So she raced out; he was bleeding all over the place and passed away."Neighbours and friends of the McGurks today described Mr McGurk - a 46-year-old property developer and lender of last resort - as a devoted family man who, along with wife Kimberley, raised four "beautiful, well-mannered kids" with no airs or graces, despite their wealth. "We weren't real close but we'd stand and talk and go over [to the McGurks' Cranbrook Avenue house] and have a drink at Christmas time," Mrs McCarron said. "They were a Catholic family, a lovely family." Mr McGurk, a father of four, was due to appear before Justice David Hammerschlag in the NSW Supreme Court today in relation to caveats he had placed over properties owned by the brothers Ben and Adam Tilley, including over their office in Edgecliff.Until a fortnight ago Mr McGurk was facing several assault charges and two charges of firebombing houses, one of which was that of Adam Tilley in Wolseley Road, Point Piper. But much to the frustration of police, the Director of Public Prosecutions dropped the charges.Mrs McGurk worked full time looking after their four children - two girls and two boys, all aged between nine and 13. One neighbour said Mr McGurk was a good man but did things sometimes that would puzzle residents. "Mike would double-park [in the street] a lot and [things] like that," the neighbour said. "Hed bypass the planning laws, he didnt care. "He was a great guy but just did things like that that made me think: 'You play things close to the edge, Mike.' "Mr McGurk was often away on business but spent all his down time with the family, neighbours said. "Forget the fact that they were millionaires, they were a fun-loving family, always respectful, no airs or graces," Mrs McCarron's husband, Dennis, said. Mr McCarron said the McGurk children would often visit them and regularly invited his granddaughter over to play tennis. "They'd always invite all the [neighbourhood] kids over for a party," he said. Mrs McGurk's mother, Noreen McDonald, lives just two kilometres away at Mosman Manors retirement village. Neighbour Graham Taylor said Mrs McDonald would drop in two or three times a day to visit her daughter. "Kimberley was a beautiful person, she's friendly, she chats," Mr Taylor said. "When she's working in the front garden she'd always come over for a chat." The family used to have a nanny but she had not been seen around the house for a few months or maybe more, Mr Taylor said. Mr McGurk spoke occasionally to neighbours about a legal battle over a small copy of the Koran and its aborted sale to the Sultan of Brunei. "He said basically that he was being victimised. He said: 'You'll probably read about it in the newspaper,' " Mr Taylor said."I said: 'Fine Mike, that's cool.' "He never mentioned his most recent troubles involving the brothers Ben and Adam Tilley. "Michael may have done things with the law or whatever but it should never have come to this," Mr McCarron said. "This is not the city's underbelly. This is just a quiet little suburb and this stuff isn't suppose to happen here." Mr McGurk's solicitor Mark Johnson described his client as a "terrific bloke".Speaking outside the NSW Supreme Court today, Mr Johnson described Mr McGurk as a "good man'' and said he had liked him very much."He was a charismatic, intelligent, generous bloke,'' he said, adding that the murder was "awful, unspeakable" especially for Mr McGurk's family.