Eileen Walewicz details heartbreak after shooting murder of husband Glenn Walewicz

The widow of an innocent man shot dead in a case of mistaken identity has spoken publicly for the first time. Read what she told a court.

The killer aims his gun at the door to Glenn Walewicz’s unit before fatally shooting the innocent Canberra man, inset, in June 2021. Pictures: Supplied

A murder victim’s widow has described feeling “a rage inside” as she struggles to understand why her innocent husband was shot dead in a case of mistaken identity.

Eileen Walewicz spoke publicly about the Canberra killing for the first time on Friday, when she read a victim impact statement at a sentence hearing in the ACT Supreme Court.

The shooter, a 20-year-old man who has pleaded guilty to murder, sat with his head bowed in the dock as Mrs Walewicz recalled receiving a devastating phone call.

She described how she was recovering from major spinal surgery when her mother-in-law called to say her husband, Glenn Walewicz, had been shot dead.

The June 2021 incident initially had ACT Policing stumped, with Detective Inspector Mark Steel at one stage describing the investigation as “a real whodunnit”.

Detective Inspector Mark Steel, who once described the case as “a real whodunnit”. Picture: Sam Turner

It was not until a year after the murder that police cracked the case, with investigations revealing the shooter had been part of a group recruited by Nicole Williams, 40, to commit a home invasion.

The gunman, who cannot be named because he was a juvenile at the time, received a rifle at Williams’ home in the ACT suburb of Holt before the group left to enact the plan.

Nicole Williams, who has pleaded guilty to charges that include being an accessory to murder. Picture: Facebook

Murder victim Glenn Walewicz. Picture: ACT Policing

Four people travelled across town to a unit complex in Phillip, where agreed facts state Williams had tasked them with stealing cash or illicit substances from two drug dealers.

But the group went to the wrong address and knocked on the door of Mr Walewicz, who could be heard in CCTV footage calling out “who is it?”

The hooded gunman replied by saying “open up” before firing a single shot through the door, hitting Mr Walewicz, 48, in the neck.

Mrs Walewicz revealed on Friday that she had separated from her husband before the murder, but she said the pair had been discussing a potential reconciliation.

Would-be home invaders outside the Canberra unit of Glenn Walewicz, who was shot dead in a robbery attempt gone wrong. Picture: Supplied

“My heart is broken and I struggle every day,” she told the court.

“I have a rage inside of me that comes and goes because I am always thinking of the ‘whys’ and ‘what ifs’. I feel like I’m always treading water with nowhere to go.”

The shooter has been remanded in custody at a youth justice centre since his arrest in June 2022.

The court heard he would soon be transferred to Canberra’s adult prison.

Canberra’s adult prison, the Alexander Maconochie Centre. Picture: NCA NewsWire

This concerned a forensic psychiatrist, Jacques Claassen, who said the murderer would be vulnerable to the influence of older inmates with “entrenched” criminal mindsets.

Dr Claassen told the court he had diagnosed the killer, whose negative attitudes were already “well-developed”, with an antisocial personality disorder.

The psychiatrist also described feeling “deeply concerned” after reading a pre-sentence report that detailed a number of comments the killer had made during his time in custody.

These included the shooter telling a youth justice worker he “loved” committing crimes because robbing people made him feel “high of life”.

The ACT Supreme Court, where the shooter appeared on Friday. Picture: Blake Foden

“I didn’t like it at first but, after a while, I felt this power and how I love it,” the killer said.

Defence barrister Keegan Lee told the court Williams had exploited the shooter’s immaturity and “armed him with a loaded weapon” before sending him to “do her bidding”.

He noted the agreed facts described Williams telling his client to take the rifle “for protection” because one of the intended targets had a gun and might shoot him.

Mr Lee told the court this information had led his client to “panic” and pull the trigger.

Prosecutor Trent Hickey slammed the suggestion the shooter had panicked, describing it as “offensive” when CCTV showed him “pumping” the rifle to load another round before fleeing the murder scene.

While he accepted Williams had taken advantage of the gunman, he said the shooter “had agency”.

“If he’s so easily swayed, it just means he’s a huge risk to the rest of us,” Mr Hickey said.

The prosecutor also argued the shooter had shown “absolute and utter callousness” since the killing, citing rap lyrics that were written after the murder.

In the lyrics, the killer wrote that he had “schemed and leaned and dropped some blood”.

Mr Hickey added that there had been no hint of remorse until now, when the shooter was “after a more lenient sentence”.

Justice David Mossop said he intended to sentence the shooter later this month.

Williams, who has pleaded guilty to charges of accessory to murder and attempted aggravated burglary, is due to be sentenced in September.

The cases of four others charged over the incident have already been finalised.