Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
AAP
AAP
National
Greta Stonehouse and Miklos Bolza

Man found not guilty of NSW bikie murder

Matthew Wiggins (centre) has been found not guilty of murder. (Paul Miller/AAP PHOTOS) (AAP)

More than 10 years after Comanchero bikie Darko Janceski was fatally gunned down outside his home the man accused of his murder has been acquitted.

Matthew Paul Wiggins, 33, was found not guilty by a NSW Supreme Court jury on Friday following a retrial on two charges of murder and causing grievous bodily harm.

Janceski was shot by a man on a dirt bike wearing a full-face helmet, sunglasses and a balaclava outside his Berkeley house south of Sydney around 5pm on April 14, 2012.

Wiggins was also accused of injuring his father Slobodan Janceski in the alleged attack.

The crown case was Wiggins suspected Janceski of being involved in the disappearance of his friend Goron Nikolovski in 2011.

Nikolovski was not a member of the Comancheros but knew the outlaw bikie gang's then national president Mark Buddle.

His body has never been found and his Honda Accord was recovered by police burnt out in Macquarie Pass south of Sydney the day after he disappeared.

Nikolovski's partner Paula Geldeard gave evidence that Robert Nikolovski had been seen highly agitated after his brother vanished and had harangued her to find out what had happened.

On November 7, 2011 in an SMS discussion between Wiggins and Ms Geldeard, Robert Nikolovski was described as a "goose" and a "madass fly".

"This brother-in-law of yours is killing my life," Wiggins wrote back in a later message.

While Wiggins was upset about what had happened to his friend, he wasn't excessively emotional about it, Ms Geldeard admitted under cross-examination.

Neighbours Peter and Kaye Nakaric told the trial about what they saw on the day of the shooting outside their home in Gannet Avenue in April 2012.

"There was a fight going on and I think about half a dozen shots," Mr Nakaric said.

He described seeing Slobodan Janceski, who he knew as Steve, attack the motorbike rider with a pole.

He said Steve had tackled the rider, pushing the motorbike onto the road before knocking his helmet off and pistol out of his hands.

Mrs Nakaric said the pair had been wrestling on the ground and throwing punches before the rider got free and fled.

On November 4, 2011, police put out a press release asking for information regarding Nikolovski's whereabouts. The next day, Janceski's home was burnt down in what police believed to be a deliberate act to destroy evidence.

Janceski experienced an earlier shotgun attack 2012, suffering injuries to his leg and groin at his home on January 29. Two men were charged over the incident, but were found not guilty by a jury. They were in custody at the time of the fatal shooting in April.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.