Only Zak Grieve jailed but ‘dozens knew’ of Ray Niceforo killing

Dozens of people allegedly knew about — and failed to prevent — a murder that led to young ­Aboriginal man Zak Grieve being jailed.

Zak Grieve's father Warren Grieve.

Dozens of people allegedly knew about — and failed to prevent — a murder that led to a young ­Aboriginal man being jailed, with one telling The Australian he was offered $10,000 to carry out the killing months before it took place.

The revelation contrasts with the situation facing 25-year-old Zak Grieve, who was found guilty of the 2011 killing in Katherine, in the Northern Territory, despite a judge finding he was not there when the murder happened.

Judge Dean Mildren told the jury at the time that under Northern Territory law Grieve should be found guilty unless he took “all reasonable steps” to prevent the crime. Grieve’s family, friends and several Katherine residents are now questioning why those others who allegedly knew about the planned murder were not charged, and whether they bear any responsibility for what took place.

The most recent man to come forward claiming prior knowledge of the murder said he was offered “ten grand and a few ounces” of marijuana to kill Katherine resident Ray Niceforo in mid-2011, but rejected it.

The offer allegedly came from Niceforo’s former de facto partner and was passed on through an intermediary, said the man, who The Australian is not identifying.

“Of course I said no … I told (the intermediary) ‘Tell her to wake up to herself and be carefully (sic) trying to kill a local man’,” the man said in an exchange of messages.

“So as u see this lady was trying to get him killed for a while and these kids was silly enough to get involved.”

Matthew Carroll, one of Grieve’s friends, said“a good, solid 20-30 people” in Katherine knew about the killing before it took place.

Another friend, Tom Smith, has told a court the murder was openly discussed at parties ­attended by “a lot of teenagers, a lot of people from Katherine High School” but he did not take the talk seriously.

The most recent man to come forward approached The Australian following the launch of a week-long series investigating the case. It has been possible to corroborate his identity and parts of his account, including that he made similar claims to other ­people shortly after Niceforo was killed. Following an exchange of messages and phone calls in ­recent days, he ceased communication.

Niceforo’s former partner yesterday denied offering this man money to commit the murder. After Niceforo’s death, however, she admitted paying $15,000 for him to be killed and was found guilty of manslaughter. The ­alleged intermediary has not been charged.

Grieve was one of three men, along with Chris Malyschko and Darren Halfpenny, convicted of Niceforo’s murder in January 2013. While Halfpenny claimed all three took part in the killing, Malyschko and Grieve gave evidence saying the latter backed out at the last minute.

No forensic evidence linked Grieve directly to the murder, and Justice Mildren found he was not there when it took place.

Zak Grieve (third from left) accompanies police to the crime scene.

Mandatory sentencing laws in place in the Northern Territory meant the judge was forced to give Grieve a life sentence. Justice Mildren described these laws as “a silly nonsense” that stopped him handing down sentences that were “just and fair”.

Grieve’s father Warren yesterday said his son did not try to prevent the murder because he was scared that his family might be harmed in retribution.

His son’s jailing “affected all of us, without a doubt”, Warren Grieve said. “When Zak first went to jail, I felt like he was dead, to be honest. I felt like he’d been killed. There was just nothing.”

Another Katherine resident, who asked not to be named, said those people in the town who ­allegedly knew about the murder and did nothing bore responsibility for it taking place.

“They were setting these boys (who were convicted) up to fail. They should be charged as well as Zak. He knew about it but didn’t partake in it,” he said.

Mr Carroll said he was also ­approached months before the murder and told “Your friend Chris is looking to kill someone for money”. He told police this after the murder, but was not charged. “Why don’t the police ­arrest me too?” Mr Carroll said.