Sydney tradie John Versace has been remembered as affectionate, hard-working and loving by his devastated family, who farewelled the 23-year-old in a moving service at a Maronite church almost a fortnight after he was gunned down on the driveway of his Condell Park home.
Versace, 23, had just pulled into the driveway of the home he shared with his parents when a stolen Toyota Corolla sped up to the home about 10.30pm on May 19. A gunman ran along the length of the fence, before levelling a semi-automatic pistol at Versace and firing up to 10 shots, confronting CCTV footage shows.
John Versace (left) was killed in a hail of bullets at his family home, a major catalyst for a new police strike force.
A short time later, a car thought to be the same Corolla was found alight in nearby Fairfield.
His murder has troubled investigators, who say it has all the hallmarks of a gangland execution.
Given Versace’s lack of criminal history or known ties to organised crime, police are investigating whether he was killed in a case of mistaken identity.
On Friday, hundreds of mourners packed into St Charbel’s in Punchbowl for Versace’s funeral as the sun beamed down.
John Versace’s coffin is carried into St Charbel’s Church in Punchbowl.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Versace, who was baptised at the Maronite church in Sydney’s west, was remembered in a touching eulogy as family oriented, cheeky and loving.
He and his father, with whom he worked, were best friends. He never passed his mother without kissing her, hugging her or spinning her around, mourners were told.
Versace was protective and devoted to his family, and his love and joy in becoming an uncle were evident. He was a passionate football and soccer fan, a speaker at the funeral said.
Lebanese drummers played as the white coffin was carried out to the hearse, and mourners threw white and red rose petals at the coffin.
Balloons are released during the funeral of John Versace on Friday.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Blue and yellow balloons, and one in the shape of a crucifix, were let off into the sky.
A brand-new hearse was accompanied to the church by a dozen of Versace’s friends on motorbikes.
Versace’s white coffin, covered in orchids and lilies, was taken to nearby Rookwood Cemetery for interment after the funeral, his devastated family following in black Mercedes-Benzes.
In line with investigators’ claims that Versace was unconnected to the city’s underworld, there was no official police presence at the church on Friday, although a number of detectives attended the service.
The same church hosted the funeral of Lametta Fadlallah in 2022, after she was shot dead at her Panania home in a suspected gangland hit that also claimed the life of hairdresser Amneh “Amy” al-Hazouri.
Like Versace, nobody has been charged over the hit that claimed Fadlallah and al-Hazouri’s lives.
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