‘Worst idea': Grim texts before the shooting murder of Yusuf Nazlioglu
A man allegedly gunned down after he stole two luxury cars from a Sydney business told a friend the theft was the 'worst idea' on the day he died, a court has heard.
Yusuf Nazlioglu was shot dead as he exited one of the vehicles in a basement carpark in Rhodes on June 27, 2022, when a hooded man opened fire.
The jury presiding in the NSW Supreme Court trial of three men charged with his murder have been told the failure to return two Mercedes Mr Nazlioglu had hired may provide 'some explanation and motive' for the shooting.
Last week, the jury was shown messages Mr Nazlioglu sent an associate on the encrypted app Threema in the lead up to his death.
Those messages, the court heard, were found on a phone examined by police on June 28, 2022 – with a screenshot showing the texts were sent 'yesterday'.
In the messages, the 40-year-old discussed the stolen Mercedes with an associate who mentioned falling out with 'mates' over the incident.
'These two cars was dumb idea,' the associate wrote.
Mr Nazlioglu agreed, saying it was 'the worst idea lol especially when there is money owed' before revealing he had been 'very emotional' recently.
'Sometimes I don't want to be around no more,' he wrote.
Mr Nazlioglu said his wife Jade Jeske, known as Jade Heffer at the time, had said it 'was the worst idea and the worst plan and I agreed with her'.
Both men said they looked like 'dirty c***s' among their associates, who Mr Nazlioglu thought 'loved me and had a lot of respect for me' before what he called a 'straight rip'.
He also said another person, involved in the scheme, 'pretended to be me' on the phone and told someone chasing the vehicles 'you not getting the cars back'.
'We should not of agreed to do it brother its (sic) a s*** go especially to mates,' the associate replied.
Mr Nazlioglu, who the court heard was acquitted Comanchero boss Mick Hawi's 2018 murder, was shot eight times at his Walker St apartment block.
The court has been shown crime scene images of a black Mercedes E-class allegedly at the centre of his death riddled with bullet holes.
It was hired alongside a white G-class from a western Sydney business on May 17 and 18, 2022 respectively with the help of his wife.
Earlier in the trial, the jury was shown CCTV footage of hooded and masked men entering the carpark and taking back the car on May 23.
Then, on May 26, CCTV captured Mr Nazlioglu stealing it again after its owner parked the vehicle on Castlereagh St in the CBD.
Crown Prosecutor Eric Balodis said Ms Jeske had noticed the black Mercedes while its owner was streaming live on TikTok from the location.
Mr Nazlioglu, who still had the key, was later caught on camera unlocking the E-class and driving away from the scene.
The men on trial – Abdulrahman Atteya, Mohammed Hosni Khaled and Mohammed Baltagi – have pleaded not guilty and deny any part in the shooting.
The Crown alleges that although they held no personal animosity toward Mr Nazlioglu, they were acting for unknown persons.
Mr Atteya is accused of being one of two men who lay in wait inside a Volkswagen Golf for Mr Nazlioglu at the carpark on the night he died.
He is accused of being either the shooter or the getaway driver.His co-accused denies allegations that they helped in preparing getaway vehicles.
Mr Atteya's barrister, David Dalton SC, told the jury his client was not involved at any stage and that Mr Nazlioglu had several enemies.
'Mr Nazlioglu had only been released (from prison) for some couple of months before he was in fact killed himself and there will be evidence, that as far as he was concerned, a number of people wanted to kill him.'
The trial before Justice Deborah Sweeney continues.
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News.com.au
20 hours ago
- News.com.au
Police share new CCTV after gruesome attack on bikie trying to leave gang
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Perth Now
a day ago
- Perth Now
Huge question in mushroom trial
Is Erin Patterson a cold and calculated killer, or an accidental poisoner who panicked fearing she would be blamed? That is the question jurors in Victorian mother's triple-murder trial will be tasked with answering. After seven weeks of evidence and four days of closing arguments from both sides of the bar table, the jury was sent home earlier on Thursday afternoon with a final message from Justice Christopher Beale. 'It is more important than ever that you have a good weekend,' the trial judge said. 'I really want you to come back refreshed on Tuesday.' Ms Patterson, 50, is facing trial after pleading not guilty to the murders of Don Patterson, Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, and the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Prosecutors allege she deliberately poisoned a beef wellington lunch for the two couples with death cap mushrooms, while her defence say it was a tragic accident. Erin Patterson denied she wanted to harm her in-laws. Brooke Grebert-Craig. Credit: Supplied The trial, now in its final stages, will hear from Justice Beale on Tuesday as he sums up the relevant law, evidence and arguments, and identifies the key issues jurors will need to determine. This week, Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC and defence barrister Colin Mandy SC had their final opportunity to address the jury. What the prosecution alleges Over two days, Dr Rogers took the jury through the evidence that showed, in her submission, why the jury should have no difficulty finding Ms Patterson intentionally sourced and included death caps in the lunch, intending to kill her guests. Dr Rogers said it was the Crown's case the accused woman saw and acted upon two posts to iNaturalist on April 28 and May 22, 2023, of death cap mushrooms in the Gippsland region. It's alleged she visited Loch 10 days after Christine McKenzie shared the sighting online, two hours before purchasing a Sunbeam Food Lab dehydrator. An image, located in the cache data of Google Photos on a tablet found at her home, depicted what mycologist Dr Tom May said was 'highly consistent' with death caps sitting on a dehydrator tray in her kitchen, the prosecutor said. Crown prosecutor Nanette Rogers SC is leading the prosecution of Ms Patterson. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia These had a last modified date on May 4, the jury was told. 'It is open for you to infer that having dehydrated death cap mushrooms, at some stage she blitzed them into a powder, as she admitted doing for other mushrooms, and, in that form, hid them in the lunch guests' beef wellington,' Dr Rogers submitted. Dr Rogers told the jury Ms Patterson's phone records captured a possible second visit to Loch on May 22 and Outtrim the same day, where Dr May posted a death cap sighting on May 21. 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NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia By Tuesday, August 1, each was critically ill and in an induced coma at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne. Dr Rogers took the jury to Ms Patterson's first hospital attendance at 8.05am on July 31 – two days after the lunch. She told the court this was the first time Ms Patterson learned doctors suspected death cap mushroom poisoning. 'This is the moment, we suggest to you, that she realised that what she had done had not gone undetected. Her reaction: she wanted to leave,' Dr Rogers said. The jury was told Ms Patterson checked herself out of hospital against medical advice and returned 98 minutes later. Prosecutors say it is unclear what she did during this time, but argued her behaviour was not consistent with someone being told they'd potentially consumed a deadly toxin and their life was in danger. Dr Rogers said the Crown alleged the only 'logical explanation' was Ms Patterson knew very well she had not eaten death caps and had fled home to work out how to manage the situation. She returned to hospital at 9.48am, allegedly feigning being sick, and was transferred to the Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne. Ms Patterson has pleaded not guilty. NewsWire / Paul Tyquin Credit: News Corp Australia Dr Rogers told the jury Ms Patterson was discharged 24 hours after returning to hospital, with medical results showing no evidence of mushroom poisoning. The prosecutor alleged the accused woman's actions after returning home amounted to a 'cover up'. These included allegedly lying about feeding the leftovers, without the mushrooms and pastry, to her kids, dumping the food dehydrator used to dry death caps and handing a 'dummy phone' to police. 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'We say there is no reasonable alternative explanation for what happened to the lunch guests, other than the accused deliberately sourced death cap mushrooms and deliberately included them in the meal she served them, with an intention to kill them,' Dr Rogers said. Simon's parents, Don and Gail Patterson, died a day apart in early August 2023. Supplied. Credit: Supplied She asked jurors to consider what they would have done if it was really a horrible accident. 'Would you go into self-preservation mode just worrying about protecting yourself from blame?' the prosecutor asked. 'No. That's not what you'd do. You would do everything you could to help the people you love.' What the defence say Colin Mandy SC, Ms Patterson's barrister, began his address by listing out 'two simple issues' he said the jury would have to determine. These were; is there a reasonable possibility that death cap mushrooms were put into this meal accidentally, and is there a reasonable possibility that his client did not intend to kill her guests. Mr Mandy argued the prosecution had taken a flawed approach to the case, starting with the theory that Ms Patterson was guilty and working backwards by cherry-picking convenient fragments and discarding inconvenient truths. Colin Mandy SC is spearheading Ms Patterson's defence. NewsWire/Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia The defence lawyer told jurors the prosecution had sought to paint Ms Patterson as a cold and calculated killer who had spent months planning this crime, but he questioned what possible reason she would have to kill. He said Ms Patterson had no motive to want her husband or in-laws dead, arguing the evidence actually showed she had 18 years' of 'anti-motive' with strong and loving relationships with Simon's parents. 'There's no possible prospect that Erin wanted in those circumstances to destroy her whole world, her whole life. Surely it's more likely that her account is true,' he said. 'Don and Gail had never been anything but kind and understanding to Erin Patterson. There was absolutely no reason at all for her to hurt them in any way at all.' Mr Mandy argued the prosecution had made much of a short dispute Ms Patterson had with Simon in December 2022 to show there was tension in the family dynamics. But he said even Simon agreed the spat over their children's schooling and finances had simmered down by the end that month showed it was 'an entirely unremarkable minor blow-up'. The trial has drawn an extensive media presence. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia Mr Mandy took the jury to a series of disparaging messages Ms Patterson sent about her in-laws to her online friends and to Don and Gail themselves in December, remarking this was her being honest about her feelings and standing up for herself. 'This was an aberration in her dealings with the Pattersons, and there is nothing to say otherwise,' he said. 'It stands out in this case because it's the only one.' The defence barrister reminded jurors of what Ms Patterson said about the reason for the lunch itself; that she'd been feeling 'isolated' from Don and Gail in recent months and was proactively trying to build bridges. He again questioned if it was more likely that she wanted to kill everyone or that she wanted to reconnect for the sake of her children. Moving on to the lunch and Ian Wilkinson's evidence that Ms Patterson ate from an orangey-tan dish while the other guests ate from large grey plates, Mr Mandy said Ian must have been mistaken. He pointed to footage taken by police at her home on August 5 which showed a small collection of plates – none of them grey or orangey-tan – and Simon's evidence that Ms Patterson did not have sets of matching plates. This, Mr Mandy said, was backed up by the evidence of Ms Patterson and the two children. 'The prosecution says, 'No, no, no, Ian's right and they're all wrong',' he said. 'Or, in Erin's case, not wrong or honestly mistaken. In Erin's case she's lying.' Erin Patterson has maintained she did not want to harm anyone. Supplied. Credit: Supplied Mr Mandy suggested that it wouldn't make sense to use a different coloured plate to identify the unpoisoned meal, when it would be far simpler to mark the pastry. Turning to Ms Patterson's illness and actions after the lunch, Mr Mandy said she had told jurors she binge ate an orange cake Gail brought and made herself sick. He suggested that because she had not claimed she vomited immediately after the lunch, or that she saw the meal in her vomit it was more likely to be the truth. The defence barrister pointed to Ms Patterson's account of adding dried mushrooms to the duxelles when preparing the dish, thinking it tasted bland. He suggested jurors might think she continued to taste the dish, after accidentally adding death caps, and this would be a 'sensible reason why Erin became unwell earlier' than the others. Mr Mandy told the jury the evidence was Ms Patterson was sick, just not as sick as Don, Gail, Heather and Ian. He said the expert evidence was people could experience a range of illness severity even after eating the same meal. On Ms Patterson's account of feeding the leftovers of the lunch to her children for dinner a day later, Mr Mandy said there was no expert evidence to back up the Crown's claim this cannot be true because they did not get sick. 'We submit to you that's another invitation to speculation; to make an assumption rather than acting on the evidence,' he said. Heather Wilkinson died, while her husband Ian survived. Supplied Credit: Supplied Mr Mandy told the jury there had been no evidence in the trial about what level of exposure to death cap toxins was required to affect the body or that vomiting a meal would leave a presence of the toxins. He pointed to evidence Ms Patterson had elevated haemoglobin and fibrinogen and low potassium; which intensive care professor Andrew Bersten said supported a diarrhoeal illness. 'Medical testing revealed three different factors,' he said. 'Three things that can't be faked.' Turning to her decision to leave hospital 5 minutes after arriving on July 31, Mr Mandy explained that his client was not prepared for what she walked into. 'In our submission to you when she left the hospital at 8.10am, there is only one reasonable explanation for why that happened, and that is she had arrived thinking she would be admitted to get some fluids for gastro,' he said. Mr Mandy and his junior counsel barrister Sophie Stafford. NewsWire/Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia Instead she was subjected to an 'extremely intense five-minute interaction' and struggled to understand what she was being told. Mr Mandy told the court his client returned after doing what she said she needed to do to prepare and was admitted. He said it was on August 1, while in hospital in Melbourne, when Ms Patterson began to panic that she would be blamed for the illnesses. Mr Mandy told the court his client was not proud of the lies she told and the decisions she made, such as taking the dehydrator to the tip, but Ms Patterson was 'not on trial for being a liar'. 'She starts panicking and she starts lying from that point,' he said. 'All of the things that she did after the lunch fall into that category and none of them … can actually change what her intention was at the time of the lunch. Either she had the intention or she didn't. 'You can't change the past because you behave badly in the future.' Members of the Patterson and Wilkinson families have been present every day for the trial. NewsWire / David Geraghty Credit: News Corp Australia In the days after the lunch, the jury was told, Ms Patterson told dozens of doctors, public health authorities and police she used button mushrooms from Woolworths and dried mushrooms she had purchased in April that year from an Asian grocer in Melbourne. On the stand, she maintained this was the case but said she now believed she may have added foraged wild mushrooms to the same Tupperware container. The barrister said photos of wild mushrooms found on a SD card supported Ms Patterson's account of developing an interest in foraging and eating mushrooms during the early Covid lockdowns in 2020. Mr Mandy said this interest also explains why computer records show she briefly looked up death cap mushroom sightings on the citizen science website iNaturalist in May 2022. 'It makes perfect sense that in the context of that dawning interest … that she would become aware of death cap mushrooms,' he said. 'And the question occurred to her because she was picking mushrooms in the wild, do they grow in South Gippsland?' Mr Mandy told the jury his client did not have to take the stand, but chose to place herself under 'such an incredible amount of scrutiny' from an experienced prosecutor. 'She came through that unscathed,' he argued. 'Her account remained coherent and consistent, day after day after day, even when challenged, rapid fire, from multiple angles, repeatedly.' Finishing his closing address, the barrister argued the prosecution can't get over the high bar of beyond reasonable doubt. 'If you think at the end of your deliberations … is a possibility that this was an accident, a reasonable possibility, you must find her not guilty,' he said. The trial continues.


The Advertiser
a day ago
- The Advertiser
'Vicious murder': one of seven charged after Beaumont Street stabbing makes bail bid
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"It's not just the provision of the knife; from the beginning to the end, the applicant played a part in this episode," he said. Fernando was arrested after detectives from Newcastle's proactive crime team stopped a car on Albert Street at Lambton just before 1pm on February 4. Her solicitor argued elements of the Crown case were "circumstantial" and that if she was to be refused bail, Fernando could remain in custody until a trial at the end of 2026 or the start of 2027. "What we say in terms of the police case against Fernando is that it is largely based on CCTV of her movements, the use of her mobile phone, her proximity to what happened and something a witness heard that they said she said," he said. "Ms Fernando maintains what she said to the police in a statement provided to them that in terms of ultimately what happened, she didn't know what was going on, she wasn't told anything, and she was dumbfounded." The court heard that one of the passengers in the car claims she heard Fernando tell another passenger she shouldn't have given her a knife. Fernando's solicitor argued it was her first time in custody and that before she was arrested, she cared for five of her seven children. He said that prior to being arrested, Fernando suffered serious mental health issues and had sought help from her GP. Acting Justice Schmidt said she expected to deliver her decision early next week. Fernando's solicitor said she had "some criminal history largely made up of driving offences and more recently, but not too recently, some larcenies, fraud and an affray" and mentioned she was on a community corrections order at the time. Newcastle City police officers have been investigating the alleged murder of Mr Callahan under Strike Force Mannum, backed by the State Crime Command's homicide squad. A SUPREME Court judge has described the fatal stabbing of James Callahan on Beaumont Street last year as a "vicious murder" as one of seven people charged made a bid for bail on Friday. Dianne Fernando, 39, will have to wait until at least next week to find out if she will be let out on bail after Acting Justice Monika Schmidt told the court she needed more time to reflect on arguments put forward. Police allege Fernando was driving one of the vehicles captured on CCTV on the night of the fatal stabbing at Hamilton on November 17, 2024. Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw opposed Fernando's bail bid, calling the alleged murder a "shocking crime". "The Crown hasn't included the footage because it is too distressing to watch," he said. Mr Shaw alleged Fernando moved the car she was driving one to two metres closer to the altercation that took Mr Callahan's life, blocking the street and "providing lighting" to the people stabbing him. "It's not just the provision of the knife; from the beginning to the end, the applicant played a part in this episode," he said. Fernando was arrested after detectives from Newcastle's proactive crime team stopped a car on Albert Street at Lambton just before 1pm on February 4. Her solicitor argued elements of the Crown case were "circumstantial" and that if she was to be refused bail, Fernando could remain in custody until a trial at the end of 2026 or the start of 2027. "What we say in terms of the police case against Fernando is that it is largely based on CCTV of her movements, the use of her mobile phone, her proximity to what happened and something a witness heard that they said she said," he said. "Ms Fernando maintains what she said to the police in a statement provided to them that in terms of ultimately what happened, she didn't know what was going on, she wasn't told anything, and she was dumbfounded." The court heard that one of the passengers in the car claims she heard Fernando tell another passenger she shouldn't have given her a knife. Fernando's solicitor argued it was her first time in custody and that before she was arrested, she cared for five of her seven children. He said that prior to being arrested, Fernando suffered serious mental health issues and had sought help from her GP. Acting Justice Schmidt said she expected to deliver her decision early next week. Fernando's solicitor said she had "some criminal history largely made up of driving offences and more recently, but not too recently, some larcenies, fraud and an affray" and mentioned she was on a community corrections order at the time. Newcastle City police officers have been investigating the alleged murder of Mr Callahan under Strike Force Mannum, backed by the State Crime Command's homicide squad. A SUPREME Court judge has described the fatal stabbing of James Callahan on Beaumont Street last year as a "vicious murder" as one of seven people charged made a bid for bail on Friday. Dianne Fernando, 39, will have to wait until at least next week to find out if she will be let out on bail after Acting Justice Monika Schmidt told the court she needed more time to reflect on arguments put forward. Police allege Fernando was driving one of the vehicles captured on CCTV on the night of the fatal stabbing at Hamilton on November 17, 2024. Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw opposed Fernando's bail bid, calling the alleged murder a "shocking crime". "The Crown hasn't included the footage because it is too distressing to watch," he said. Mr Shaw alleged Fernando moved the car she was driving one to two metres closer to the altercation that took Mr Callahan's life, blocking the street and "providing lighting" to the people stabbing him. "It's not just the provision of the knife; from the beginning to the end, the applicant played a part in this episode," he said. Fernando was arrested after detectives from Newcastle's proactive crime team stopped a car on Albert Street at Lambton just before 1pm on February 4. Her solicitor argued elements of the Crown case were "circumstantial" and that if she was to be refused bail, Fernando could remain in custody until a trial at the end of 2026 or the start of 2027. "What we say in terms of the police case against Fernando is that it is largely based on CCTV of her movements, the use of her mobile phone, her proximity to what happened and something a witness heard that they said she said," he said. "Ms Fernando maintains what she said to the police in a statement provided to them that in terms of ultimately what happened, she didn't know what was going on, she wasn't told anything, and she was dumbfounded." The court heard that one of the passengers in the car claims she heard Fernando tell another passenger she shouldn't have given her a knife. Fernando's solicitor argued it was her first time in custody and that before she was arrested, she cared for five of her seven children. He said that prior to being arrested, Fernando suffered serious mental health issues and had sought help from her GP. Acting Justice Schmidt said she expected to deliver her decision early next week. Fernando's solicitor said she had "some criminal history largely made up of driving offences and more recently, but not too recently, some larcenies, fraud and an affray" and mentioned she was on a community corrections order at the time. Newcastle City police officers have been investigating the alleged murder of Mr Callahan under Strike Force Mannum, backed by the State Crime Command's homicide squad. A SUPREME Court judge has described the fatal stabbing of James Callahan on Beaumont Street last year as a "vicious murder" as one of seven people charged made a bid for bail on Friday. Dianne Fernando, 39, will have to wait until at least next week to find out if she will be let out on bail after Acting Justice Monika Schmidt told the court she needed more time to reflect on arguments put forward. Police allege Fernando was driving one of the vehicles captured on CCTV on the night of the fatal stabbing at Hamilton on November 17, 2024. Crown prosecutor Liam Shaw opposed Fernando's bail bid, calling the alleged murder a "shocking crime". "The Crown hasn't included the footage because it is too distressing to watch," he said. Mr Shaw alleged Fernando moved the car she was driving one to two metres closer to the altercation that took Mr Callahan's life, blocking the street and "providing lighting" to the people stabbing him. "It's not just the provision of the knife; from the beginning to the end, the applicant played a part in this episode," he said. Fernando was arrested after detectives from Newcastle's proactive crime team stopped a car on Albert Street at Lambton just before 1pm on February 4. Her solicitor argued elements of the Crown case were "circumstantial" and that if she was to be refused bail, Fernando could remain in custody until a trial at the end of 2026 or the start of 2027. "What we say in terms of the police case against Fernando is that it is largely based on CCTV of her movements, the use of her mobile phone, her proximity to what happened and something a witness heard that they said she said," he said. "Ms Fernando maintains what she said to the police in a statement provided to them that in terms of ultimately what happened, she didn't know what was going on, she wasn't told anything, and she was dumbfounded." The court heard that one of the passengers in the car claims she heard Fernando tell another passenger she shouldn't have given her a knife. Fernando's solicitor argued it was her first time in custody and that before she was arrested, she cared for five of her seven children. He said that prior to being arrested, Fernando suffered serious mental health issues and had sought help from her GP. Acting Justice Schmidt said she expected to deliver her decision early next week. Fernando's solicitor said she had "some criminal history largely made up of driving offences and more recently, but not too recently, some larcenies, fraud and an affray" and mentioned she was on a community corrections order at the time. Newcastle City police officers have been investigating the alleged murder of Mr Callahan under Strike Force Mannum, backed by the State Crime Command's homicide squad.