Revealed: Tattoos on man accused of arranging Brayden Dillon murder
A man who has pleaded not guilty to arranging the murder of teenager Brayden Dillon as part of a revenge plot for the death of his nephew has tattoos on his body stating “my family is not to be f**ked with” and “revenge is a dish best served cold”, his trial has heard.
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When police arrested Abdul Abu-Mahmoud they claim he had murder written all over him — literally.
Police took photos of Abu-Mahmoud’s tattoos in October 2018 shortly after he landed in Sydney on a flight from Thailand and was charged with orchestrating the execution of 15-year-old Brayden Dillon.
Abu-Mahmoud has pleaded not guilty to murdering Brayden who was shot dead by a masked gunman as he slept in his mother’s Glenfield home in southwest Sydney on Good Friday in 2017.
The 35-year-old is standing trial in the NSW Supreme Court accused of arranging the murder as part of a revenge plot for the death of his nephew.
Brayden’s older brother, Joshua Dillon, stabbed Adam Abu-Mahmoud in a fatal brawl in Panania in 2016 but was found not guilty on self defence grounds.
But prosecutors have tendered the photos as evidence in Abu-Mahmoud’s trial and claim they show he was motivated for revenge and organised Brayden’s murder.
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However, his barrister told the court this week while there was a possibility Abu-Mahmoud wanted vengeance, the tattoos did not mean he was behind the killing.
“He may have wanted it to happen and may have celebrated the fact his brothers have taken out an act of vengeance,” defence barrister Ertunc Ozen SC said.
“It doesn’t mean he orchestrated it.”
One of the tattoos on the back of Abu-Mahmoud’s left leg says “Revenge is a dish best served cold” and is surrounded by bullets and one of the letters replaced by a pistol.
Above that tattoo is a masked man poised to fire a pistol with the words: “Expect me … when you least expect it.”
Abu-Mahmoud’s left hip features more inkwork that reads: “My family is not to be f**ked with.”
Another tattoo on his left thigh says “ … Death do us part” with another reading “eye 4 eye” just below across his knee.
On his inner left thigh the word “family” is written and another on his left shin features two grenades being struck by lightning.
The large tattoo on the right side of his torso appears to feature a typo and reads: “If we do nothing, than (sic) we are nothing.”
Inked in Arabic, text on his left arm was another that said: “Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth and blood for blood.”
Abu-Mahmoud also allegedly made threats against Brayden’s family. The court heard he allegedly told Brayden’s older brother he was going to “kill your whole family” following his nephew’s stabbing death in 2016.
The court heard this week Abu-Mahmoud obtained the tattoos in question after Brayden’s death.
Abu-Mahmoud was arrested by NSW Police Homicide detectives in October 2018 at Sydney Airport after stepping off a flight from Thailand.
He is currently on trial in the NSW Supreme Court in a judge alone trial in front of Justice Ian Harrison and has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges.
The hired assassin, who shot Brayden but cannot legally be named, was sentenced to a maximum 40 years jail last month after pleading guilty to murder.
He was given a 20 per cent discount on his sentence on the condition he continue providing assistance to police and gave evidence against his co-accused.
But when it came time to step into the box in Abu-Mahmoud’s trial, the shooter back flipped and claimed he acted alone.
That contradicted the facts the shooter pleaded guilty to — that Abu-Mahmoud paid him $20,000 to carry out the hit.
The court also heard evidence that notorious Supermax inmate Bassam Hamzy gave his minions, including the shooter, the “green light” to throw Abu-Mahmoud under the bus.
The defence have pointed the finger at Hamzy, a “psychopath and puppet master”, as the man responsible for directing Brayden’s execution.
Hamzy, the court heard, was Abu-Mahmoud’s associate, the leader of the Brothers for Life gang and ruled the group under the motto love, loyalty and respect.
“To the rational observer what Hamzy was offering was anything but,” Mr Ozen said.
Hamzy may have directed the murder of Brayden in retribution for Adam Abu-Mahmoud’s stabbing death as a show of loyalty to the family.
And knowing the way BFL operated under Hamzy’s reign, there was no way a crime of this magnitude occurred without his knowledge, Mr Ozen submitted.
The officer in charge of the investigation gave evidence that Hamzy was a person of interest in the investigation.