Criminal lawyers investigated over their role in teen’s murder
IT was the murder that shocked Sydney — a teenage boy shot in the head as he slept. Today, The Sunday Telegraph reveals a sinister twist involving at least three Sydney criminal lawyers and their alleged links to the murder of Brayden Dillon.
NSW
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A GROUP of criminal lawyers is being investigated over the Brayden Dillon murder case, with one suspected of helping a prison inmate pass on instructions to those who organised the killing.
At least two others are believed to have been involved in fabricating evidence after the fact, including arranging falsified documents from accused hitman Conrad Craig, to throw police off the scent of a number of other suspects.
Craig is awaiting trial for allegedly shooting 15-year-old Brayden in the head at close range at his mother’s home in Glenfield, southwest Sydney, in July last year.
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Police suspect Craig was hired to carry out the revenge murder after Brayden’s older brother Joshua stabbed Adam Abu-Mahmoud to death in 2016.
During Dillon’s court case, police allege that Adam’s uncle Abdul “Abs” Abu-Mahmoud threatened to kill a member of his family in retribution.
After Dillon’s court appearance, one of the lawyers in question visited a maximum security prisoner, who handed him secret information to be passed on to a third party.
While it is not known who the information was meant for, the inmate was known to be a friend of Abu-Mahmoud.
Because some of the secret communications were carried out before Brayden was shot dead, it raises questions about whether the lawyer actually knew about the impending murder.
While the inmate has not been charged, an arrest warrant has been issued for Abu-Mahmoud, who was an associate of the now defunct Brothers for Life gang.
Phone records show Abu-Mahmoud and Craig were in contact leading up to Brayden’s murder.
After Craig was arrested, Abu-Mahmoud left the country.
Following Brayden’s murder at least one of the lawyers visited Craig, getting him to agree to a false document in exchange for financial support.
Sources said the document was allegedly written beforehand by a third party, who gave it to the lawyer for Craig.
Conrad Craig’s current solicitor and barrister are not being investigated by police.
The contents of the document exonerated a number of suspects from having any role in Brayden’s murder, including Abu-Mahmoud, the sources claim.
The alleged plot came to light when police became aware of the existence of notes exchanged between Craig and the lawyer.
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One of the notes was handed to police by a junior member of the lawyer’s staff, who was pressured to retrieve it from the lawyer’s file, sources said.
Detectives are seeking legal advice as to whether they can lay charges against the lawyers over the alleged plot.
The investigation into the lawyers’ activity is being handled by the Homicide Squad and the NSW Crime Commission. Police refused to comment on the allegations.
“This is an active investigation and there are a number of people before the court, so it would be inappropriate to comment at this time,” a spokesman said.
The lawyers either declined to comment or could not be reached yesterday.
However, it is understood at least one of the lawyers has told people close to them that they have done nothing wrong and the police have misinterpreted them performing legitimate legal work.
Court documents show Craig was released from Cessnock jail 19 days before he allegedly shot Brayden dead in April last year.
Within days of leaving jail, police allege Craig, 27, began putting measures in place to commit the murder.
He allegedly parked a getaway car about 300m from Brayden’s house but it was moved after a suspicious neighbour reported it to police.
Three days later, police allege Craig broke in through Brayden’s front door, waved Brayden’s mother away with his firearm, then shot the teenager as he lay in bed.