Two alleged assassins have been tried for shooting in broad sunlight from King Mick Hawi’s bikie brooch.
A weeping receptionist recounted the dreadful moment when he witnessed Mahmoud “Mick” Hawi’s execution a few feet away and saw his “skin and blood” in his luxurious van.
On Friday, witness Stephanie Nicolaou wiped away tears by reliving the sun-light execution of former national motorcyclist gang president outlawed comanchero two years ago.
His frantic triple-0 appeal was held in court at the Supreme Court trial of suspected shooter Yusuf Nazlioglu, 38, and Jamal Eljaidi, 32, accused of being the driving force behind the escape.
Both have pleaded guilty to the murder.
Jamal Eljaidi denied being the engine of the getaway. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Joel Carrett Source: News Corp Australia
Ms. Nicolaou, testifying via an audiovisual link from a road, struggled to contain her feelings by recounting how she worked at the First Rockdale Fitness reception on February 15, 2008
“The few seconds I heard a slamming sound, ” said Mrs. Nicolaou.
“This has been repeated. There’s a bang, bang, bang. I don’t know how much, I feel about 12 shots.”
Bullet holes in the passenger window of Mr. Hawi’s car. Image: supplied. Source: Supplied
She recounted that she felt shards of glass fall on her neck as bullets dot the company’s windows.
“First I checked that there was a user inside the car when I saw skin and blood,” he says.
“My manager was yelling at me from across the gym to call triple 0. I told him I didn’t need to stop by the front desk.”
She amassed the courage to move slowly to her workplace to retrieve her phone despite her concern that the shooter would return.
Nazlioglu is accused of committing the coup after he clashed with Hawi in 2016 during a fishing holiday on the central coast.
Mr. Hawi’s widow, Carolina Gonzales, told the court that Mr. Hawi was embarrassed by Mr. Nazlioglu’s movements and that this had ended his relationship with his former close friend.
Mr. Hawi’s widow, Carolina Gonzales, left this week. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Bianca De Marchi Source: News Corp Australia
A Sydney internal registration driving force told the court how the alleged getaway car used in the execution left its store a month after the shooting.
On the last day of the first week of the trial, Abraham Stambouli told the court that he saw the silver-plated Toyota Aurion stationed outdoors near a company in March 2018.
Witness Abraham Stambouli had the alleged escape deposited in his signal trill company. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Bianca De Marchi Source: News Corp Australia
At the time, he owned East Coast Bodyworks and several days later won a call from a guy who told him he had left the car.
Mr. Stambouli stated that he had seen that the car, which did not have a license plate attached, was opened and may simply not find a key.
He said the consumer had told him, “I left a car in front of the Telstra construction and sought to see what it meant to fix and re-register.”
Several days after the Aurion caught Mr. Stambouli’s attention, police discovered the car.
He then phoned his client, who said he wasn’t involved in a crime, and was told he’d sold it to “certain guys,” but then they changed their minds.
CCTV footage given to the jury this week showed the masked gunman being carried in a silver Mercedes that was later discovered burned on a street near Rockdale.
A burned silver Mercedes-Benz allegedly used in Mick Hawi’s murder. Image: supplied. Source: Supplied
His killers allegedly used the Silver Aurion as an escape vehicle.
When police discovered it, they discovered a black hood on the floor on the front passenger side.
The court found out this week that the hood had left traces of bullet and Nazlioglu’s DNA.
The trial continues.