The crucial errors which could catch the EastLink executioners
The brutal murder of Croydon fruiter Paul Virgona may have been carefully planned, but the killing was riddled with errors that could see the killers coming off second best.
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Contract killers aren’t generally Jackal-style assassins, stalking the shadows with black leather gloves, clasping big guns with silencers.
Melbourne’s criminal history is littered with murderous desperados and misfits who took the money before being undone by their own blunders, bad luck, or a dash of both.
Just about every killer from the city’s era of gangland carnage between 1998 and 2006 came off second best.
Some wound up on the wrong end of a gun, quite a few weren’t even paid for their trigger work and others are long-term guests at Her Majesty’s Hotel.
And so it might be with the cold-blooded EastLink hit team.
Their murder of Paul Virgona was carried out with ruthless efficiency near the Mullum Mullum tunnel but, since then, they have surely lost sleep wondering about things like CCTV and forensics.
The men clearly put in a lot of planning but, as homicide squad boss Insp. Tim Day later remarked, it did not go to plan.
When they torched the Mercedes used for the November 9 hit at a Mooroolbark housing construction site, they were unaware security footage from the area would capture their movements.
That meant police were immediately on the lookout for a Volkswagen Amarok or similar vehicle, which they spotted in Ferntree Gully.
Although they had cloned number plates based on an Amarok from a Moorabbin used car yard, the killers chose to take off at speed.
They eventually bolted into Marie Wallace Bayswater Park, near the corner of Mountain Highway and Scoresby Rd.
Where they went from there is unknown.
It is possible they were able to call someone to give them a lift clear of the area or had a third vehicle waiting.
The fact a canine unit sent to the park was unable to track them may support the theory they were able to drive away.
There would be some chance that, had they run to their home or that of someone they knew, a dog would have tracked them there.
But one experienced police dog handler said, as good as the canine’s work is, there are too many variables to ever provide guarantees.
Scent can last 10 minutes or days and with that trace altered by differences in surfaces like grass (stronger) and concrete (weaker).
In any case, sacrificing the Amarok was a significant move and, possibly, a second major break for police.
It is almost certain those on board planned to incinerate it when they got to where they were heading to destroy fingerprint, DNA or other evidence.
The fact it was left intact carried the potential for crucial forensic evidence to be collected.
A fortnight on, nothing has surfaced publicly to suggest why the 46-year-old family man with no criminal history became the victim of such a brutal act.
His involvement in the sometimes ruthless fruit and vegetable industry was an obvious line of inquiry.
Mr Virgona’s work routine of leaving at around 2am – a time when only a smattering of shift workers and clubbers are out on the road — clearly made him vulnerable
It also lengthens the odds on mistaken identity because of the remote prospect of other targets being expected to leave home at such an unusual hour.
One key question is why the killers – who clearly knew Mr Virgona’s movements – chose to shoot him out on a freeway.
Many of Melbourne’s most infamous organised crime killings happened as the victim got in or out of a car, so why did they not make their move as he left home?
There are doubtless many other elements to this inquiry beyond who pulled the trigger and the identity of the wheelman.
Police will be looking into who might have had a motive and cash reserves to commission Mr Virgona’s murder.
At the other end of the scale, investigators would be working hard to find out who stole the Mercedes and the Amarok because of the potential for that to yield significant leads.
None of this was front of mind on Tuesday when hundreds gathered to say their goodbyes at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Croydon.
Members of the Knox footy club, where Mr Virgona was once an assistant coach, formed a guard of honour outside the church to the hearse.
Mr Virgona had carved out a reputation as a respected junior coach in the area, having served as a development coach with the Eastern Rangers.
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And, despite heavy work commitments, he was recently entrusted with the job of coaching the Croydon Football and Netball Club under-19 team.
The family has been left questioning why such a man would be singled out.
“There is no answer, but they have a lot of people around them to support them during this terrible time,” a source said.