
Two men are charged with murder three months after a grandmother was fatally gunned down outside her house in horror drive-by shooting
Kim Duncan, 65, died in April after three gunmen allegedly peppered her southwest Sydney home with bullets and drove off.
Jesse Evans, 34, and Manase Fakahau, 19, were charged with her murder on Wednesday and hauled before Bankstown Local Court.
Police allege three men arrived at a house on Dickens Road, Ambarvale, on April 14, got out of their car and started shooting at the home.
The alleged gunmen then climbed back into a dark-coloured sedan and fled.
Ms Duncan was in the front living room when she was shot in the leg and died at the scene.
Her son, James Shaine Dowd, 34, and a 21-year-old woman were also home at the time, but were uninjured.
The family residing at the address were known to police, and officers allege Ms Duncan was not the intended target.
'It's abhorrent, somebody coming up to a house and putting shots off is totally reckless and the consequences are catastrophic,' NSW Police Superintendent Grant Healey told reporters at the time.
Police had been investigating the family who had only lived in the home for less than two months before the shooting.
'Initially they were [cooperating with police], but at this point in time we're trying to work with them to get some more information,' Supt Healey said.
'We don't know the intent or the reason why [the shots] were fired at the house.'
About 4am on Wednesday, officers descend on homes in Atkinson Street, Liverpool, and Sudbury Street, Belmore.
'It was the person that resided at the house, she was shot at, and we believe the people that were involved had a grudge, an argument, or a beef with somebody who lived in that location,' Supt Healey said on Wednesday.
He said both men were known to police, one more extensively than the other.
Police previously arrested Ms Duncan's son, Mr Dowd, in Ambarvale and another male, aged 32.
Police were called to a home in Ambarvale, southwest Sydney, on April 14 following reports shots had been fired at a home (above, Mr Dowd distraught outside the home at the time)
The men assisted police and were released without charge. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest either man was involved in the shooting.
Detectives are still on the hunt for a third person they believe to have been involved in the alleged shooting.
Anyone with information that could assist Strike Force Apslawn detectives has been urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Murder trial shown haunting footage of dentist 'poisoning' wife he took out $4million in life insurance policies on
The adulterous Colorado dentist accused of fatally poisoning his wife had taken out life insurance policies totaling $4 million on her, the lead detective in his case testified on Friday. Aurora Police Det. Bobbi Jo Olson took the stand for the second time in the murder trial of father-of-six Dr James Craig, who was arrested on March 19, 2023 - the day after his 43-year-old wife, Angela, was taken off life support. Craig has also been charged in relation to an alleged jailhouse plot to order a hit on Olson – calling her 'the worst, dirtiest detective in the whole world' – along with other victims, jurors have heard during nearly two weeks of testimony. He's pleaded not guilty to murder, solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. Prosecutors argue Craig poisoned his wife's shakes and administered fatal doses of arsenic, cyanide and tetrahyrdrozoline, a chemical found in eye drops, amidst mounting financial struggles and multiple affairs – particularly a budding romance with a Texas orthodontist. Olson testified on Friday that the dentist had several policies with Kansas City and Lincoln Life insurance companies totaling $4 million in the event of Angela's death. The detectives also outlined Craig's alleged movements in the days before and after his wife first got sick on March 6 – as the court was shown in-home surveillance footage from the family's kitchen. Angela's relatives alternately smiled, wiped tears and laughed as they watched their late loved one interact with her children on camera. But all lightness faded from the courtroom as footage showed Craig get up before 5am on March 6 – the date Angela first exhibited mystery symptoms after drinking a shake he prepared – to mix something in the kitchen and use the microwave. He'd ordered arsenic to the family home two days earlier, Olson testified on Friday - and footage showed Angela consuming the drink he appeared to have made her. Craig affectionately dog-whistled at his wife twice on the morning of March 6, and they discussed their child's car seat before he left the home, footage showed. Angela began feeling ill and went to the hospital later that day, feeling 'heavy' and like her body wasn't working properly, jurors heard earlier in the trial. On Friday, they watched as Angela accused Craig of 'failing' her the day after that first futile hospital visit - when doctors simply sent her home and told her to speak to her primary care physician. 'It may not be your call that they didn't do their due diligence or anything like that, but it's your fault they treated me differently,' she said. 'It's your fault … they treated me like I was suicidal … like I did it to myself.' She complained that Craig 'didn't actually defend me' and his behavior was '100% selfish and had nothing to do with being there for me. 'You ask all the details, in every medical … everything, everywhere you go, and you didn't even ask. 'You didn't try to do anything,' she said. 'You just brought me home.' Olson testified on Friday that records showed Craig had also ordered oleander and cyanide in the days after Angela first fell ill. Date and time stamps from footage shown in court on Friday of Craig's trips to and from the family residence matched up with previous evidence about trips he made to the supermarket - where receipts showed his credit card purchased Visine - and the loading dock of a medical company from which he'd ordered cyanide. An expert testified on Thursday that Craig's phone had pinged off towers corresponding to the locations. Jurors also watched footage on Friday from the hospital on March 15 - the date of Angela's final admission - in which Craig appears to have what Olson called a 'thin white or clear object in his left hand.' He later entered his wife's room for 'exactly 60 seconds,' she testified, before coming out and telling the nurse's station that Angela's arm hurt and her condition was deteriorating. Doctors told Angela's family later that day that all brain activity had ceased - and she was taken off life support on March 18. Craig's defense team - his third, after two others dropped out as the dentist racked up more charges from behind bars - argues that Angela was 'manipulative' and suicidal. The jury has heard evidence about how Craig repeatedly claimed Angela wanted to end her own life, asked him to obtain poisons for her and engaged him in a game of 'chicken.' Angela's friends and family have steadfastly testified that she loved life and being a mother - and was neither suicidal nor a risk-taker. There was also no mention of the 'game of chicken' in a four-page explanatory timeline Craig detailed himself the day after Angela was declared brain dead, Olson testified. Reading Craig's own words, she told the court how he claimed to have returned from the Vegas conference where he met his latest paramour on February 25 - then asked Angela for a divorce. 'She said she was just going to end her life,' Craig wrote in the timeline Olson read out. 'I begged her not to do that, but she said she couldn't get a divorce. 'She talked about driving her car into a pylon but was worried she wouldn't die but just be maimed,' he continued. 'That's when she started talking about poisons ... she asked me to research some poisons for her to find one that would kill fastest with high accuracy and the broadest spectrum.' Angela asked him to poison her shakes and voluntarily consumed arsenic and tetrahydrozoline, he claimed. Olson testified there was no evidence Angela ever searched for poisons. The court previously heard, however, of her desperate searches of her symptoms as she tried to figure out what was making her so sick. The court has also heard that searches about poisons and their lethality were found on an exam room computer at Craig's dental practice. Witnesses, including a former cellmate, another inmate and even Craig's 20-year-old daughter, have testified about his attempts to plant evidence and bribe witnesses to lie for him. Annabelle Craig told the court last how week how her father, soon after his arrest, asked her to create a deep-fake video to clear him showing her mom asking for the lethal substances. Four of Craig's mistresses from the months before Angela's murder have also testified at the trial. That included three 'sugar babies' he met on - and lavished with gifts like cars, money and out-of-state trips - and a Texas orthodontist he love-bombed and exchanged 4,000 texts with in under three weeks after meeting at a Las Vegas dental conference. Two 'sugar babies' testified that Craig told them a divorce would financially cripple him.


Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Police finally make arrest after newborn twins were found dumped in rat-infested alley in New York City
A Bronx mother accused of dumping her newborn twins in a rat-infested alley has been arrested, five years after she committed the heinous crime. Stephanie Castillo, 36, was taken into custody Friday morning and charged with multiple counts of murder and manslaughter in connection with the deaths of her infant sons, law enforcement sources confirmed. The arrest follows a years-long investigation that recently linked Castillo to the crime through DNA evidence. On November 9, 2020, the babies were discovered in a filthy alley behind a College Avenue apartment building, near East 171st Street, in the Claremont section of the Bronx. One of the newborn babies was partially wrapped in a pet training pad with visible head trauma and an umbilical cord tied around his neck. The other was found about 20 feet away, tucked inside a black plastic bag. Both were less than 24 hours old and had been born alive, according to police. Castillo was arrested at a nearby shelter, just blocks from the apartment where she had previously lived - and from which police believe she may have thrown the babies out a fourth-floor window. 'The perpetrator in this case resided on the fourth floor of this apartment building, and we believe that the babies were disposed of out the window,' NYPD Assistant Chief Michael Baldassano told CBS New York. The twins, later named Zeke and Zane by detectives, were buried after officers raised money for their funeral. The case remained unsolved for years despite a $10,000 reward and repeated public pleas, according The New York Times. Castillo is now charged with two counts of murder and manslaughter. She is being held at the 44th Precinct and is expected to be arraigned in Bronx Criminal Court. 'This is exactly why we come to work every day. The NYPD, we don't give up. Our detectives are the best in the world,' Baldassano said.


The Independent
36 minutes ago
- The Independent
Child's interview can't be used in her father's trial in killings of wife and other man, judge rules
A northern Virginia circuit judge ruled on Friday that prosecutors' case against an IRS agent charged with killing his wife and another man cannot include a recorded interview from the defendant's young daughter. Fairfax Circuit Court Chief Judge Penney Azcarate on Friday denied prosecutors' motion on the admissibility of the young child's conversation with a forensic interviewer about what she believed was happening the morning her mother was killed at her home. That child's father, Brendan Banfield, was later charged with aggravated murder in the February 2023 deaths of his wife, Christine Banfield, and Joe Ryan, a man who was invited to the house that day. Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Eric Clingan argued that the child's interview should be admissible evidence at trial because she is a victim of her father's alleged killing. The killings occurred while the child was in the Banfields' basement, authorities have said. In December, Banfield was indicted with child abuse and felony child cruelty in connection with the case. 'It's an act of abuse against her by virtue of what her father did that morning,' Clingan said in court. Meanwhile, John F. Carroll, who represents the father, argued in court that Banfield did not consent for his child to be interviewed by authorities at the police's headquarters. Azcarate sided with the defense, citing a statute that a child's interview would be admissible only if the child was being directly victimized by the parent. She acknowledged authorities later pressed child abuse-related charges, but she said those indictments were not the basis for officials' interview of Banfield's daughter that day. 'The interview doesn't fall within the statute,' Azcarate said. Complex investigation and prosecution The evidentiary hearing is one of a series of developments in the officials' multifaceted investigation and prosecution of Christine Banfield and Ryan's killings. Carroll also moved on Friday for the court to rescind Banfield's indictment and remove Clingan, the lead prosecutor, from the case. In his arguments, Carroll argued that Clingan guided Banfield's co-defendant in an interview, though Azcarate denied both motions. That co-defendant, Juliana Peres Magalhães, was originally arrested and charged with second-degree murder in the case. At the time of the killings, Magalhães and Banfield informed authorities that they walked in on Ryan attacking Christine Banfield and both shot him with different weapons, attorneys have said in court. But last year, Magalhães pleaded guilty to manslaughter in what prosecutors have long described as a scheme led by Banfield and the au pair to frame Ryan in the stabbing of Christine Banfield. Ahead of her plea, Magalhães provided a proffer to officials and was interviewed by Clingan, attorneys have stated in court. Her proffer corroborated a catfishing theory that Ryan was lured to the home on a social networking platform for people interested in sexual fetishes. She also corroborated the theory that Magalhães, who began working for the family in 2021, and Brendan Banfield had a romantic relationship that began before the killings, and that she helped the husband in his conspiracy to kill his wife. 'I'm just so upset and heartbroken for doing this to Brendan,' the au pair wrote to her mother from the Fairfax County jail last October in a message, which has since been entered into court evidence. 'I love him and he loves me too, I have no doubts. But it's the right thing to do. For you. I want to be with you again.' Dispute arises over catfishing theory Despite her proffer, a divide appears evident among officials over the catfishing theory. Brendan Miller, a digital forensic examiner with the police department, testified earlier this month that his analysis of forensic evidence also suggested Christine Banfield was seeking to have an affair with Ryan. Miller testified that his analysis was based on multiple devices, and he concluded that Christine Banfield had connected with Ryan through a social networking platform for people interested in sexual fetishes and matched her with Ryan. His findings diverged from a theory held by other officials in the department that the messages Ryan had been receiving were actually from Brendan Banfield posing as his wife. Deputy Chief Patrick Brusch, who oversaw the department's major crimes bureau at the time, confirmed in testimony earlier this month that he said Miller would 'never be doing another digital forensics case in your major crimes bureau' after he analyzed the evidence. Carroll, Banfield's attorney, argued in court that officials were not adhering to proper investigative guidelines when building their case and backing Brusch's catfishing theory without the supporting facts. In a court filing, Carroll wrote that Brusch resigned from the department after the hearing in which he had testified. He wrote in another motion that 'there is a willfulness in the lack of recognition of the science,' adding: 'The digital forensics are facts, and the Commonwealth chooses to ignore and disregard those facts.' ___