A bikie’s killer was caught because he left his $300 Prada sunglasses smeared with DNA at the crime scene.
Darko Janceski, 32, was working on a car outside his home near Woolongong in April 2012 when 29-year-old Matthew Wiggins, wearing a balaclava, shot him three times.
Mr Janceski’s father heard the shots and rushed outside before bashing Wiggins with a metal garden stake as the killer tried to escape on his motorbike.
Matthew Paul Wiggins (pictured), 29, has been found guilty of murdering Darko Janceski and assaulting his father Slobodan Janceski
Comancheros bikie gang member Darko Janceski (pictured) was shot dead in broad daylight outside his family’s Wollongong home in 2012
Wiggins broke the father’s nose, shattered his jaw and fractured his eyesocket before fleeing the scene – but left his gun, helmet and $300 Prada sunglasses behind.
The items were later linked to Wiggins through DNA testing, meaning a jury could find him guilty of murder on Wednesday after his first trial was abandoned for legal reasons.
Slobodan Janceski said he was ‘relieved’ that justice for his son had been served.
‘I think any parent, mother or father, would have done the same as I did,’ he told The Daily Telegraph.
‘He was a good friend of mine, and losing your child — it’s like losing half of your life. We feel very empty in our home.’
The prosecution said Wiggins carried out the execution to avenge the suspected murder of his missing friend, Goran Nikolovski, who disappeared without a trace on October 2011.
Nikolovski and Darko Janceski, were allegedly standover men for people involved in the drug trade and ran an extortion racket in the Illawarra region together.
Janceski was rumoured to be involved with Nikolovski’s disappearance, and is suspected of setting his own house on fire to destroy evidence.
It was alleged in court that that Darko Janceski (pictured) was a standover man for people involved in the drug trade and ran an extortion racket in the Illawarra region
Janceski survived a similar shooting less than three months prior to his death. He stayed at his parent’s house after being released from hospital.
Earlier in the trial, defence barrister David Doltone SC said no one has been able to identify Darko’s murderer.
‘The crown case is flawed,’ he told the trial in April.
Mr Doltone noted other people’s DNA and fingerprints were found on the helmet and added Darko’s extortion business meant plenty of people could dislike him.
‘Yes, Mr Wiggins, who is close friends of Goran Nikolovski, was very upset about (his death),’ he said. ‘That doesn’t provide someone with a motive to kill.’
Wiggins will be sentenced on June 28.
Matthew Wiggins (pictured) will be sentenced in June after being found guilty of murder