Alleged killers of innocent Sydney student ‘hired guns’ from interstate
Updated . First published
The three males who allegedly broke into Marco Tapia’s Sydney home and shot him dead in his bed in a mistaken-identity killing travelled from Victoria, police said on Wednesday after charges were laid.
University student Tapia, 23, was fatally shot in his bed after a home invasion at about 3.40am on September 1 on Mount Sugarloaf Drive in Glen Alpine.
Marco Tapia was in bed when he was shot inside his house in Sydney. Nine
Police have said they believe Tapia, who had no connections to any criminal activity, was mistakenly targeted in a botched organised crime hit.
He died at the scene.
Officers were told three unknown offenders fled the home before police arrived.
Two teenage boys have since been charged and remain before the courts.
Yesterday, following inquiries, police arrested a 16-year-old boy and two men aged 22 and 23 in Junee, in southern NSW.
They were charged with murder, aggravated break and enter, and weapons offences.
Police will allege in court that the three males, one armed with a pistol, were the crew that broke into the home and confronted Tapia before he was fatally shot.
All three were remanded in custody and will appear in court today.
Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi told reporters this morning that the three males had all previously been extradited from Victoria and charged with unrelated shooting offences in the Sydney suburbs of Turrella and Hurstville on August 31.
“We will allege they were contracted as hired guns by an organised crime group to attend NSW and commit these violent acts, including the murder of Mr Tapia,” he said.
He said the men were known to police in Victoria for “minor and serious offences”.
While it’s not common for hired guns to cross state borders, Doueihi said it wasn’t unknown.
“Under the model that these criminals work on now, as crime as a service, they put these contracts out via an encrypted application and word of mouth and, you know, anyone could take up an offer, regardless of where they are,” he said.
He said police were now confident they had charged everybody directly involved with carrying out Tapia’s alleged murder, but the investigation was ongoing.
Three males were charged with Marco Tapia’s murder. NSW Police
“I can say that we have arrested all the offenders that were involved in the murder - physically, hands-on involved. That’s a great result,” he said.
“We are still looking into the upper echelons of who facilitated this and who organised that.”
The gap between the charges over the unlinked Hurstville and Turrella incidents and those levelled over Tapia’s death were due to the complexity of the investigation, Doueihi said.
“There are thousands and thousands of hours of CCTV, telecommunication information, download, and reviews of communication devices, forensic evidence, canvassing witness statements,” he said.
“Once we have the opportunity to go through all of that and put it all together, we were able to identify that there was a strong case implicating these three males in this offence.”
All three males have invoked their “right to silence” and are not cooperating with investigators.
Family facing ‘nightmare’
Tapia was a biomedical engineering student at the University of Technology Sydney and a volunteer with Engineers Without Borders UTS, according to his professional LinkedIn page.
The promising student posted frequently about his volunteering experience and engagement in student life.
“I also volunteer with Engineers Without Borders UTS, running the youth outreach program and assisting with society logistics,” Tapia wrote on Linkedin.
“My leadership experience in school and youth programs reflects my commitment to empowering others.”
His parents, Sergio and Claudia, told A Current Affair Marco had dreams of being an engineer.
Sergio and Claudia told A Current Affair that Marco had dreams of being an engineer. NIne
“It was a nightmare. It was a nightmare waking up to that,” Claudia said.
“It all happened so fast.”
Sergio said his son’s death had been “horrific”.
“You know, he was beautiful young man,” he said.
“It’s already impacted a lot of hearts to see such a beautiful person, such a caring, loving man pass in this awful manner.”
Both parents were present as Tapia took his last breath.
His older sister, Cassie, is getting married in November.
“He got to open his invitation to come to the wedding, but it’s going to be something that he’s not going to be attending,” she said.
“He’s my best friend and the fact he’s not going to be there as one of the groomsmen is heartbreaking.”
Doueihi said today the family had been informed of the new charges.
“They are very happy with these results,” he said.
“They just wanted us to reiterate that Marco was an innocent party and had no involvement in any form of criminality.”
Previous arrests
The two previously arrested teen boys, aged 14 and 16, were taken into custody after police searched two homes in Fairfield on September 16.
They were both charged with murder, participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity, possessing an unauthorised prohibited firearm and two counts of driving a conveyance taken without the consent of its owner.
The 14-year-old was also charged with damaging property by fire or explosion.
At the time, Doueihi said after charges were laid police would allege the two boys were not part of the home invasion group, but were involved in the “preparation, planning, and aftermath”.
Detectives believe Marco was mistakenly killed as part of a violent gangland war. NIne
Their tasks allegedly included supplying weapons to the home invasion crew, disposing of a kill car, and cleaning a residence used by the attackers.
He said again on Wednesday that there was no link between the boys arrested earlier and the trio now charged.
Neither boy was known to police prior to their arrest, and Doueihi said their parents had been unaware of their alleged involvement and were left “shocked” and “devastated”.
He described the boys’ efforts as “clumsy”, noting that the 14-year-old allegedly tasked with setting the “kill car” on fire burned himself in the process and was hospitalised.
It’s believed the boys may have been recruited by organised crime leaders in hiding overseas, an increasingly common underworld practice.
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