John Nelis pleads guilty to manslaughter over Corio shooting death of Chris ‘Legzy’ Jacobs
A heartbroken father has revealed he feels “numb” over his son’s death at the hands of a mate in Corio last year.
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A man who was once a key suspect in the unsolved disappearance of Paul Kingsbury has admitted shooting dead his mate in a “tragic accident” in Corio.
John Lawrence Nelis, 38, was responsible for causing the death of Chris “Legzy” Jacobs in a bizarre incident last year.
The Supreme Court was told on Thursday the shooter did not know the gun was loaded when he pulled the trigger and killed Mr Jacobs inside a caravan.
The 39-year-old victim had been wearing a faulty bulletproof vest that was not fitted with any ballistics panelling.
Nelis, of Lovely Banks, was originally charged with murder but has since pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter.
It can now be revealed Nelis was once a prime suspect in the mystery disappearance of Mr Kingsbury in 2014.
Nelis was committed to stand trial on charges of kidnapping and false imprisonment — allegations that he denied — before the case was ultimately dropped.
Mr Kingsbury, then aged 27, was last seen alive at a house in Moolap and is believed to have been murdered.
Nelis is now facing the prospect of a lengthy jail term over the fatal shooting of Mr Jacobs on the morning of July 4, 2020.
The court heard the pair were close friends when Nelis pointed a double-barrelled shotgun at Mr Jacobs inside a caravan at the rear of a home on Chaffey Square.
It is believed Nelis was visiting Mr Jacobs to sell or swap the firearm when he noticed his friend wearing a bulletproof vest, the court was told.
Nelis asked his friend, “What’s that? A bulletproof vest?”, before firing the weapon in front of several people who were also at the caravan.
Mr Jacobs was shot in the chest and abdomen.
After falling to the floor, he asked Nelis and others at the scene: “How bad is it?”
Nelis went to Mr Jacobs and said: “Are you all right bro?”
The shooter also said: “I didn’t know it was full … It wasn’t meant to be loaded.”
A witness called an ambulance but Mr Jacobs died a short time later.
Nelis fled the scene before police arrived and remained on the run for 20 days before handing himself into Geelong police station.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Jacobs’s father said he was left feeling “numb” over his son’s death.
“You do not expect your children to die before you,” Nicholas Jacobs said.
“Christopher was a special human being. He had his faults like most people … but he was loved by many.
“Chris’s killing should not have happened. No one has the right to take another’s life.”
The victim’s stepmother, Hillary Jacobs, said the family was still coming to terms with the circumstances of his death.
“It still seems unbelievable that his death was the result of something like this,” she said.
Defence barrister Dermot Dann, QC, described the fatal shooting as a “tragic accident” and said Nelis was remorseful.
Justice Lex Lasry will sentence Nelis on a later date.
Originally published as John Nelis pleads guilty to manslaughter over Corio shooting death of Chris ‘Legzy’ Jacobs
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