EastLink shooting victim Paul Virgona may have been wrong target
The shooting death of fruiterer Paul Virgona on the EastLink freeway may have been a case of mistaken identity as homicide detectives reveal the father of two had no criminal record and betrayed no signs of feeling under threat.
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Homicide investigators have been unable to rule out a mistaken identity bungle being behind the freeway hit on fruiterer Paul Virgona.
Six days on from the brutal EastLink killing, the Herald Sun understands nothing has been uncovered to indicate why the Croydon father of two was the target of such an extraordinary murder.
He had no criminal record and betrayed no signs to others of feeling under threat.
Mr Virgona, 46, died in his van when a shooter opened fire from a Mercedes-Benz that moved alongside him as he travelled along EastLink to go to work at 2.15am last Saturday. The hit team then travelled to Jaxlee Court in Mooroolbark where they set the black C200 sedan alight.
It is possible the killers know the outer eastern suburbs area well.
The location where the Mercedes was torched is out of the way and 15km from the crime scene.
Cars have previously been torched in that location, leading to the owner of a construction site installing CCTV to monitor movements after hours.
Those cameras alerted the owner to Saturday morning’s fire, enabling a quick response from police.
They pursued the killers — by then in a Volkswagen Amarok — in an area around Bayswater but the pair jumped from the car and fled on foot.
Mr Virgona will be farewelled at The Sacred Heart Parish Church in Croydon on Tuesday.
His wake will be held at Croydon Football Club, where he was recently appointed coach of the Under 19s team for 2020.
Mr Virgona met players for the first time just weeks ago.
Croydon Football Club president Anthony Thompson said Mr Virgona had lived for footy and family.
“He was really quiet but loved his footy. We would talk about footy and family,” he said.
Asked if Mr Virgona appeared concerned for his safety before his death, Mr Thompson replied: “Hell no.”
“It’s pretty sad. And there is still the unknown,” he said.
“It hits quite close to home.”
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Mr Thompson — who is childhood friends with Mr Virgona’s grieving wife — said it had been an extremely tough week for the family.
“She (his wife) has been putting on a brave face,” he said.
The day of his killing Mr Virgona was on his way to work at Virgona Fresh Produce, a family-run fruit and vegetable wholesaler in Thornbury. He previously ran a fresh food market at Croydon Central Shopping Centre.
Detectives believe his killers followed him from home before executing him.
Police are continuing to appeal for dashcam footage taken in the area at the time of the killing.