Rodney Lee shot dead neighbours Saumotu Gasio and Tibor Laszlo over tap dispute

A Mordialloc man “snapped” when his neighbours turned off his garden hose, shooting them dead with a shotgun stashed under his bed.

Saumotu Gasio’s (left) family heard the shocking details of his death. Picture: Facebook

A senior citizen blasted his neighbours with a shotgun in a shocking double murder because they turned off the tap to his precious veggie patch.

Rodney Lee, 74, sat glumly in his wheelchair in the Supreme Court on Monday as the families of his two victims heard he had become so enraged by a long-running dispute over his garden hose that he shot their loved ones dead.

On January 13 last year, Lee began threatening his neighbours at his Mordialloc unit complex after waking from his afternoon nap to find his garden hose had been switched off.

“You turn the hose off again you bastards, I’ll f--king kill you,” he shouted.

But later that night, Lee returned to his beloved garden to find the tap had again been turned off.

Rasta Gasio (left) told the court he lost his biggest role model when his 62-year-old dad Saumotu Gasio (right) was murdered. Picture: Facebook

Incensed, Lee stomped towards neighbours Saumotu Gasio, 62, and Tibor Laszlo, 72, who were chatting with a group of residents outside.

“Go back to where you came from,” Lee told Gasio, calling him a “c--t”.

He then retrieved his shotgun from under his bed and blasted Gasio in the chest, dispersing the crowd.

Lee reloaded his gun and shot into an upstairs unit before following the men to another apartment where Gasio had collapsed on the floor.

Arriving at the doorway with his shotgun loaded, Lee took aim at Laszlo, shooting him dead as he attempted to hide behind a fridge.

When police arrived, the murderous senior refused to put down his weapon, retreating into his home after a police member fired a shot at him.

He eventually surrendered to police.

Lee told the cops tensions between the neighbours “started months ago” and he was fed up with people turning off his tap.

The horrifying double murder occurred at a property on McDonald Street, Mordialloc. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

“So, I went and got me shot gun and shot him (Gasio),” he had said.

“He’s (Laszlo) the one who has been turning off my tap in the garden. I shot him too.”

Lee’s lawyer, Andrew Waters, who acknowledged the elder would likely spend the rest of his life behind bars, said his client’s “degree of agitation” had been escalating for years.

The ordeal had “pushed Mr Lee beyond his breaking point,” he said.

“He snapped.”

Mr Gasio’s children shared tributes in court, remembering him as “a warming sun” who had a “smile so bright and colourful it would light up the room.”

Mr Gasio’s son Rasta, speaking outside court, said the family needed closure.

“We’re all struggling,” he said.

“We’re waiting for the sentencing … (so) we can move on with our lives and start really grieving properly.”

Lee will be sentenced at a later date.