Horrific new details emerge of how burlesque dancer died while she tried to flee flames engulfing her home - as cops name prime suspect accused of masterminding bungled arson attack and why it happened

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

Tobacco wars kingpin Kaz Hamad and his 'buffoon' hitmen are being hunted by Victorian police for the bungled murder of Melbourne woman Katie Tangey.
Ms Tangey, otherwise known as Vivien May-Royale, died in the targeted house fire in Truganina, in Melbourne's west, in the early hours of January 16.
She made a desperate triple-0 call shortly after 2am, telling the operator she couldn't get out of the burning house in Dover Street.
Ms Tangey then desperately tried to escape the inferno through a window on the top floor of the home, but she became trapped and burnt to death in the flames.
On Monday, Victoria Police offered a $500,000 reward for anyone who could help bring Ms Tangey's killers to justice.
Two men who started the blaze are still on the run, but police have now publicly admitted for the first time that they believe Hamad ordered the bungled firebombing.
'I'm six months into the investigation now and what I can say is this - yes, he's involved,' Homicide Squad Detective Inspector Chris Murray said on Monday.
'From the information we have, the illegal tobacco trade is front and centre as to why this incident occurred.
'We know there was a theft of (Hamad's) commodities, being illegal tobacco and we know that he sought retribution.
'Unfortunately... the two buffoons who committed this act targeted the wrong address.'
Inspector Murray said he was not suggesting Hamad deliberately targeted Ms Tangey, but his alleged tasking of the job was ultimately behind the crime.
'We know he's overseas. We're all ears,' he said. 'In fairness, I'd say even he would be disgusted as to what's transpired here.
'If he's got any sense of decency, I'm sure he can get us on the phone and let us know the two individuals who actually did this.
'They should be held accountable. They should be held responsible and brought to justice so we can give some closure to Katie's family.'
Detectives refused to reveal who they believe was Hamad's real target for the firebombing on the night Ms Tangey died.
'We're very confident that we know the motive,' Det Insp Murray said.
'We're fairly solid on the motive now. We're fairly solid on what's transpired. Our focus is to identify those two individuals who committed this act.
'Others can be held accountable in various other ways, but we want to identify those two because they are solely responsible, in my view, for killing Katie.'
Inspector Murray described the horror Ms Tangey faced in her final agonising moments alive.
'(Ms Tangey) was a completely innocent individual who had nothing to do with this illegal tobacco trade at all,' he said.
'(She) was asleep in bed, in the early hours. One can only imagine how scared she must have been.'
In a fresh twist, it was revealed an anonymous phone call was made to Crime Stoppers in which police were given a pseudonym or nickname linked to the attack.
Police are now asking that person to contact them again in the hope they may be able to provide more information.
Detectives earlier released an image of a man, described as slim, Middle Eastern, and aged between 25 and 30, whom they wish to speak to about the tragedy.
'Detectives are particularly keen to hear from anyone who recognises the man in the image or has any further information on the nickname provided in the call to Crime Stoppers,' a police statement added.
In June, police raided a home in Dandenong in relation to the crime and seized a phone.
Ms Tangey had been house sitting with her brother's golden retriever, Sunny, who also died inside the three-storey townhouse.
Her brother Ethan Tangey and his wife Brooke were just days into their honeymoon when the fire took place.
CCTV captured the vehicle in which the killers fled the scene, travelling north on Forsyth Road in Truganina at approximately 2.12am.