‘Worst idea': Grim texts before the shooting murder of Yusuf Nazlioglu
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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