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UPDATED: A Sydney father-of-four who was shot in the back of the head and dumped in bushland may have been killed by organised crime figures whom he had become involved with, police say.
Homicide detectives said John Gasovski was shot once in an "execution style" killing and his fully-clothed body was dumped in Illawarra bushland.
The Arncliffe man told his family he was heading to Canberra on June 9 for business.
On June 15, his body was found at Jamberoo lookout. Mr Gasovski was killed by a gunshot wound to the head.
Lake Illawarra police and the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad have joined the St George Local Area Command-initiated Strike Force Berek, to investigate how Mr Gasovski’s body came to be at Jamberoo, 100 kilometres from Arncliffe and 200 kilometres from Canberra.
“Our inquiries are very wide and no stone remains unturned,” said Lake Illawarra Local Area Commander, Detective Superintendent Wayne Starling.
“We’ll chase down every nook and cranny to give closure to the deceased’s family.”
A post mortem carried out at the Department of Forensic Medicine in Glebe on Monday confirmed Mr Gasovski had been shot in the head.
Mr Gasovski was last seen at 3.30pm on June 9, having told his family he would return from Canberra the next day. After his family reported the 48-year-old missing on June 12, Det Supt Starling said Strike Force Berek was established by St George police to find him.
His body was discovered by a park ranger early Sunday morning. Police said there was no attempt to conceal the body, and an extensive search did not find a weapon nearby.
Detective Inspector Grant Taylor said police believed the former James Cook Boys High School student had become involved with organised crime figures who had links to drugs.
"We are exploring all of his activities in the last number of years to see when he did become involved in the criminal milieu," he said.
"He involved himself in some way with criminal identities and we are trying to identify who those individual are."
Inspector Taylor said he did not think Mr Gasovski's body had been lying in the bush for very long before it was discovered, but he was waiting for forensic results for a more conclusive time.
"Police don’t believe he died a week ago," he said. "It looks like his death was closer to the time he was found rather than the time he went missing.
"He was fully dressed and there was no attempt to conceal his body."
It is the same stretch of bushland where the remains of 19-year-old Kim Barry were found in 1981, after she was decapitated and had her fingers removed.
The Corrimal teenager was killed by former Wollongong coalminer Graham Potter.
Det Supt Starling would not be drawn on whether Mr Gasovski suffered the injuries at the scene or elsewhere.
Mr Gasovski’s family paid tribute to the man online.
“Rip dad love you,” wrote one daughter, while another wrote “My uncle. WHY WHY WHY.”
Police are scouring CCTV film from businesses in the Jamberoo area for clues.
‘‘They contacted us Sunday afternoon, looking for footage from Monday until Sunday morning,’’ Jamberoo Pub licensee Erica Warren said.
‘‘They said they were looking for a car that drove through town.’’
Mr Gasovski’s Facebook page said he ran a company called JSJ Communications.
JSJ Communications was placed into liquidation in June 2013 and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued a note to deregister the firm.
Police have urged anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.