Police will allege Naji then drove the pair to another location shortly after Versace’s murder, having abandoned their first getaway car.
Police have described Versace’s death, which bore all the hallmarks of a gangland assassination, as an “extremely brutal and violent execution-style murder”.
Versace had just reversed his ute into the driveway of his family’s Dalton Avenue home about 10.30pm when he was ambushed by a masked and hooded gunman dressed in black. He backed away from his killer, but he was trapped against the garage door and was shot at least four times with a “Glock-style pistol”, police said at the time.
As many as 10 shots were fired before Versace’s body slumped to the ground and his alleged killer made off in a Toyota Corolla, believed to have been stolen last December, that had been parked across the driveway to thwart any potential escape attempt.
About 20 minutes after Versace was killed, a Corolla believed to be the killer’s getaway car was found engulfed in flames on Blackford Street in Fairfield East. Inside, police found what they believe was the weapon used in Versace’s murder.
Versace was remembered by family and friends as affectionate, hard-working and loving in a ceremony at a Punchbowl church 11 days after his death. Versace and his father, with whom he worked in the family plumbing business, were best friends.
NSW Police forensics officers at the scene of John Versace’s murder in May.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“There’s nothing to suggest that Mr Versace was anything but a hard-working young man who was living at home with his family and trying to set himself up for the rest of his life,” Taskforce Falcon commander Jason Box said after the arrests.
“Our thoughts go to the family of Mr Versace, and we will continue to support them throughout this whole process and assist wherever we can.”
Box said detectives were now examining associates of Naji and the 43-year-old, who Box said were both known to police and each other, in a bid to identify Versace’s killer. Investigations into who the intended target was and why are also still under way.
“There’s a number of theories, and evidence and information that we’re assessing and exploring at the moment, and we will continue until we find the person responsible for the shooting,” Box said.
“There’s a lot of lines of inquiry, I’m sure, that will open now.”
Versace’s death was followed less than a week later by the murder of long-time Alameddine crime network associate Dawood Zakaria, and was a major catalyst for the establishment of Taskforce Falcon.
Zakaria, 32, the older brother of Sydney underworld figure Masood Zakaria, died after the car he was travelling in with several associates was peppered with bullets on May 25.
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The investigation into Versace’s murder was one of 13 active cases absorbed by Taskforce Falcon that police believed were linked to an escalating conflict, ignited when Masood Zakaria defected from the Alameddine crime family to form his own rival crime network.
Police have linked several public shootings and assassination attempts to the conflict.
Neither Naji nor the 43-year-old man applied for bail when each briefly appeared in court on Wednesday. Both were remanded in custody to face court in January.
