Gunman pleads guilty to murder over home invasion shooting of Zachery Davies-Scott

3 days ago

A GUNMAN who executed Zachary Davies-Scott in front of his family during a home invasion at Heddon Greta in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Gino Ricardo Delpiero, 26, was represented by solicitor Katie Case when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from Mid North Coast Correctional Centre.
Mr Davies-Scott's family and Homicide Squad detectives were in court to watch as Delpiero became the first person to plead guilty to murder over the 25-year-old's death.
Mr Davies-Scott, known to many as Donnie, was shot dead in his home in Traders Way about 10.50pm on December 27, 2022.
Detectives have been told a group of people forced their way into the home and executed Mr Davies-Scott in what is alleged to have been a "home invasion gone wrong".
Delpiero claimed he had "no intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on the unfortunate victim", but acknowledged he was guilty of murder on the basis that he had participated in an armed robbery during which Mr Davies-Scott had died, the court heard.
A 52-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries after attempting to fight off the alleged intruders.
Other family members home at the time - including two children, aged two and four, and Mr Davies-Scott's pregnant partner - witnessed the shooting, but were uninjured, police have said.
The group fled the scene in a white SUV, and detectives in February, 2023 seized a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander at Boolaroo.
Homicide Squad detectives under Strike Force Roslyn have since arrested and charged five people over Mr Davies-Scott's death, including charging four men with murder and a woman with hindering the investigation.
Two of the men - Talon Dean and Jarryd Nickerson - were arrested and charged within the space of a few days in October and November 2023, while Delpiero was arrested at Elermore Vale in January, 2024.
Dean and Nickerson were also expected to enter pleas in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, but both matters were adjourned.
Lawyers for Dean indicated he would likely be committed for sentence when the matter returned to court on July 23.
Nickerson's matter was adjourned to July 30 when he is also expected to enter a plea.
A fourth man, 45-year-old Mathew Robert Houghton, was arrested earlier this year and charged with murder, detectives alleging he was part of a joint criminal enterprise to murder Mr Davies-Scott, assisting the group before and after the home invasion.
It had been nearly two-and-a-half years after the alleged murder and more than a year after the last of the accused killers were charged when detectives raided a house at Lambton on May 15 and arrested the 45-year-old.
During the search, police allegedly seized a replica pistol, knuckle dusters, prohibited drugs and a stolen vehicle.
Houghton's matter was also mentioned in court on Wednesday, when detectives revealed they had served a brief of evidence in the case.
He has not entered any pleas and the matter was adjourned to September 17 for prosecutors to finalise the charges against Houghton.
A fifth person, Sarah Jane Stackman, pleaded guilty to hindering the investigation into Mr Davies-Scott's murder and was last year ordered to serve a 15-month home detention order.
Stackman, acting out of loyalty to Nickerson, who the court heard was her "on-and-off-again partner", had admitted to lying to police and hiding potential evidence from investigators.
The court heard Stackman had moved Mr Nickerson's clothing, instructed others to help remove clues that he had been at her house and deleted possible evidence from her phone between June 2023 and when she was arrested in January 2024.
A GUNMAN who executed Zachary Davies-Scott in front of his family during a home invasion at Heddon Greta in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Gino Ricardo Delpiero, 26, was represented by solicitor Katie Case when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from Mid North Coast Correctional Centre.
Mr Davies-Scott's family and Homicide Squad detectives were in court to watch as Delpiero became the first person to plead guilty to murder over the 25-year-old's death.
Mr Davies-Scott, known to many as Donnie, was shot dead in his home in Traders Way about 10.50pm on December 27, 2022.
Detectives have been told a group of people forced their way into the home and executed Mr Davies-Scott in what is alleged to have been a "home invasion gone wrong".
Delpiero claimed he had "no intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on the unfortunate victim", but acknowledged he was guilty of murder on the basis that he had participated in an armed robbery during which Mr Davies-Scott had died, the court heard.
A 52-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries after attempting to fight off the alleged intruders.
Other family members home at the time - including two children, aged two and four, and Mr Davies-Scott's pregnant partner - witnessed the shooting, but were uninjured, police have said.
The group fled the scene in a white SUV, and detectives in February, 2023 seized a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander at Boolaroo.
Homicide Squad detectives under Strike Force Roslyn have since arrested and charged five people over Mr Davies-Scott's death, including charging four men with murder and a woman with hindering the investigation.
Two of the men - Talon Dean and Jarryd Nickerson - were arrested and charged within the space of a few days in October and November 2023, while Delpiero was arrested at Elermore Vale in January, 2024.
Dean and Nickerson were also expected to enter pleas in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, but both matters were adjourned.
Lawyers for Dean indicated he would likely be committed for sentence when the matter returned to court on July 23.
Nickerson's matter was adjourned to July 30 when he is also expected to enter a plea.
A fourth man, 45-year-old Mathew Robert Houghton, was arrested earlier this year and charged with murder, detectives alleging he was part of a joint criminal enterprise to murder Mr Davies-Scott, assisting the group before and after the home invasion.
It had been nearly two-and-a-half years after the alleged murder and more than a year after the last of the accused killers were charged when detectives raided a house at Lambton on May 15 and arrested the 45-year-old.
During the search, police allegedly seized a replica pistol, knuckle dusters, prohibited drugs and a stolen vehicle.
Houghton's matter was also mentioned in court on Wednesday, when detectives revealed they had served a brief of evidence in the case.
He has not entered any pleas and the matter was adjourned to September 17 for prosecutors to finalise the charges against Houghton.
A fifth person, Sarah Jane Stackman, pleaded guilty to hindering the investigation into Mr Davies-Scott's murder and was last year ordered to serve a 15-month home detention order.
Stackman, acting out of loyalty to Nickerson, who the court heard was her "on-and-off-again partner", had admitted to lying to police and hiding potential evidence from investigators.
The court heard Stackman had moved Mr Nickerson's clothing, instructed others to help remove clues that he had been at her house and deleted possible evidence from her phone between June 2023 and when she was arrested in January 2024.
A GUNMAN who executed Zachary Davies-Scott in front of his family during a home invasion at Heddon Greta in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Gino Ricardo Delpiero, 26, was represented by solicitor Katie Case when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from Mid North Coast Correctional Centre.
Mr Davies-Scott's family and Homicide Squad detectives were in court to watch as Delpiero became the first person to plead guilty to murder over the 25-year-old's death.
Mr Davies-Scott, known to many as Donnie, was shot dead in his home in Traders Way about 10.50pm on December 27, 2022.
Detectives have been told a group of people forced their way into the home and executed Mr Davies-Scott in what is alleged to have been a "home invasion gone wrong".
Delpiero claimed he had "no intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on the unfortunate victim", but acknowledged he was guilty of murder on the basis that he had participated in an armed robbery during which Mr Davies-Scott had died, the court heard.
A 52-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries after attempting to fight off the alleged intruders.
Other family members home at the time - including two children, aged two and four, and Mr Davies-Scott's pregnant partner - witnessed the shooting, but were uninjured, police have said.
The group fled the scene in a white SUV, and detectives in February, 2023 seized a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander at Boolaroo.
Homicide Squad detectives under Strike Force Roslyn have since arrested and charged five people over Mr Davies-Scott's death, including charging four men with murder and a woman with hindering the investigation.
Two of the men - Talon Dean and Jarryd Nickerson - were arrested and charged within the space of a few days in October and November 2023, while Delpiero was arrested at Elermore Vale in January, 2024.
Dean and Nickerson were also expected to enter pleas in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, but both matters were adjourned.
Lawyers for Dean indicated he would likely be committed for sentence when the matter returned to court on July 23.
Nickerson's matter was adjourned to July 30 when he is also expected to enter a plea.
A fourth man, 45-year-old Mathew Robert Houghton, was arrested earlier this year and charged with murder, detectives alleging he was part of a joint criminal enterprise to murder Mr Davies-Scott, assisting the group before and after the home invasion.
It had been nearly two-and-a-half years after the alleged murder and more than a year after the last of the accused killers were charged when detectives raided a house at Lambton on May 15 and arrested the 45-year-old.
During the search, police allegedly seized a replica pistol, knuckle dusters, prohibited drugs and a stolen vehicle.
Houghton's matter was also mentioned in court on Wednesday, when detectives revealed they had served a brief of evidence in the case.
He has not entered any pleas and the matter was adjourned to September 17 for prosecutors to finalise the charges against Houghton.
A fifth person, Sarah Jane Stackman, pleaded guilty to hindering the investigation into Mr Davies-Scott's murder and was last year ordered to serve a 15-month home detention order.
Stackman, acting out of loyalty to Nickerson, who the court heard was her "on-and-off-again partner", had admitted to lying to police and hiding potential evidence from investigators.
The court heard Stackman had moved Mr Nickerson's clothing, instructed others to help remove clues that he had been at her house and deleted possible evidence from her phone between June 2023 and when she was arrested in January 2024.
A GUNMAN who executed Zachary Davies-Scott in front of his family during a home invasion at Heddon Greta in 2022 has pleaded guilty to murder.
Gino Ricardo Delpiero, 26, was represented by solicitor Katie Case when he appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday via audio visual link from Mid North Coast Correctional Centre.
Mr Davies-Scott's family and Homicide Squad detectives were in court to watch as Delpiero became the first person to plead guilty to murder over the 25-year-old's death.
Mr Davies-Scott, known to many as Donnie, was shot dead in his home in Traders Way about 10.50pm on December 27, 2022.
Detectives have been told a group of people forced their way into the home and executed Mr Davies-Scott in what is alleged to have been a "home invasion gone wrong".
Delpiero claimed he had "no intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm on the unfortunate victim", but acknowledged he was guilty of murder on the basis that he had participated in an armed robbery during which Mr Davies-Scott had died, the court heard.
A 52-year-old woman also sustained minor injuries after attempting to fight off the alleged intruders.
Other family members home at the time - including two children, aged two and four, and Mr Davies-Scott's pregnant partner - witnessed the shooting, but were uninjured, police have said.
The group fled the scene in a white SUV, and detectives in February, 2023 seized a 2015 Mitsubishi Outlander at Boolaroo.
Homicide Squad detectives under Strike Force Roslyn have since arrested and charged five people over Mr Davies-Scott's death, including charging four men with murder and a woman with hindering the investigation.
Two of the men - Talon Dean and Jarryd Nickerson - were arrested and charged within the space of a few days in October and November 2023, while Delpiero was arrested at Elermore Vale in January, 2024.
Dean and Nickerson were also expected to enter pleas in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday, but both matters were adjourned.
Lawyers for Dean indicated he would likely be committed for sentence when the matter returned to court on July 23.
Nickerson's matter was adjourned to July 30 when he is also expected to enter a plea.
A fourth man, 45-year-old Mathew Robert Houghton, was arrested earlier this year and charged with murder, detectives alleging he was part of a joint criminal enterprise to murder Mr Davies-Scott, assisting the group before and after the home invasion.
It had been nearly two-and-a-half years after the alleged murder and more than a year after the last of the accused killers were charged when detectives raided a house at Lambton on May 15 and arrested the 45-year-old.
During the search, police allegedly seized a replica pistol, knuckle dusters, prohibited drugs and a stolen vehicle.
Houghton's matter was also mentioned in court on Wednesday, when detectives revealed they had served a brief of evidence in the case.
He has not entered any pleas and the matter was adjourned to September 17 for prosecutors to finalise the charges against Houghton.
A fifth person, Sarah Jane Stackman, pleaded guilty to hindering the investigation into Mr Davies-Scott's murder and was last year ordered to serve a 15-month home detention order.
Stackman, acting out of loyalty to Nickerson, who the court heard was her "on-and-off-again partner", had admitted to lying to police and hiding potential evidence from investigators.
The court heard Stackman had moved Mr Nickerson's clothing, instructed others to help remove clues that he had been at her house and deleted possible evidence from her phone between June 2023 and when she was arrested in January 2024.

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Carolina Wilga: Police reveal German backpacker endured 11 nights alone in WA wilderness

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West Australian

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How ‘contract crew' victim survived being shot in the head and then buried alive

News.com.au

11 hours ago

News.com.au

How ‘contract crew' victim survived being shot in the head and then buried alive

The moment a man trudged into a Queensland petrol station with a bullet in his brain after digging himself out of his own grave would seem 'far-fetched' if you saw it in a movie. But it was real; the 23-year-old survivor of a would-be assassination was left to die in the dirt by a 'contract crew', in an incident senior police have described as a 'miracle'. can reveal the unknown man is now serving time in prison, for unrelated matters, despite his good fortune in surviving the attempted murder in July 2024. Experienced forensic pathologist Professor Johan Duflou does not subscribe to miracles but said the facts as they have been presented tell an unbelievable tale. 'It's absolutely good luck on his part,' he said. 'Or if you like – bad luck on being there in the first instance, good luck in surviving,' he told 'I think if it happened in the movies, you'd think it was far-fetched.' The incident was revealed last week when NSW Police announced its investigation into the contract crew believed to be behind his shooting, the kidnapping of another man and the murder of father Rich Choup within a six-day period of 'carnage' in July 2024. All three incidents are suspected to be linked to a Victorian drug trafficking syndicate, police said, and sources have told the crew was enlisted after a methamphetamine haul went missing from a stash house in Melbourne. Detective Superintendent Joe Doueihi, head of NSW Police's Homicide Squad, told a press conference last week if 'he was a betting man' he would say 'missing drugs or missing money' led to the incidents. The motive for the 23-year-old man's shooting 'remains unclear at the moment', he said, adding that he had not fully cooperated with the strike force investigation. Professor Roger Byard from the University of Adelaide said there was a 'common misconception' that shots to the head were instantly fatal. 'There were soldiers in war who discovered they were shot in the head when they took their helmet off and saw a hole in it,' he said. 'People have actually shot off a large part of their brain with shotguns. 'But if you don't damage blood vessels or vital structures like the brain stem … that controls breathing and heart rate, then you can survive for quite a long time.' Do you know more? Email: 'Not inevitable' It remains unclear exactly where the bullet or bullet fragments impacted the man's brain, which experts said was a key factor. Professors Byard and Duflou both cited the famous example of American rail worker Phineas P. Gage, who survived for 12 years after a large iron rod was blasted through his frontal lobe in 1848. Another more recent example of surviving a gunshot wound to the head comes from Australia's gangland and the alleged attempted murder of bikie boss Tarek Zahed at a Sydney gym in 2022. Zahed was shot through the eye but lived, although court records suggest he did not sustain injuries to his brain. 'It's something that is well recognised in forensics,' Professor Byard said. Professor Duflou said the calibre of ammunition used and the exact point of impact could be factors in the chances of survival. 'The other thing is what type of bullet was it, and what type of gun was it?' he said. 'Especially if it's either old ammunition or homemade type ammunition. 'If it goes into the frontal lobe, you can survive that type of situation. 'It's certainly not inevitable that you would survive by any stretch of the imagination, but you have a chance of survival.' Top neurosurgeon Professor Lindy Jeffree said the odds were stacked against patients who had been shot in the head. 'More than half of people with gunshot wounds to the head will die before they reach hospital and about half of the rest will die in hospital,' she told 'Of survivors, half are very severely disabled. Less than 10% can live a normal life.' Professor Jeffree, who works as the director of neurosurgery at Alfred Health, said a bullet that crossed through multiple lobes of the brain was 'highly likely to cause coma and death'. 'I'm gonna die' Detective Superintendent Doueihi said last week the 23-year-old man was 'lured' across the border into Queensland unaware of his companions' alleged 'ulterior motives'. On July 21 he entered a service station on Tamborine St, Jimboomba – south of Brisbane – covered in dirt and a visible bullet wound to his head. A staff member told 9News at the time the man with 'severe injuries' to his face had first asked her to call him a taxi. 'He said 'No police, no ambulance, just a taxi',' she said. After he went into the bathroom for a short period, she said the man changed his mind about the ambulance: 'He kept repeating 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die'. 'I didn't know who was following him. I didn't know if they were going to come hurt us.' He collapsed before being taken to hospital where it was established he had been shot through the eye and had a bullet lodged in his brain. 'For someone to survive that is a miracle,' Detective Superintendent Doueihi said on Monday.