It started with a trip to the pub on a Friday night. But what unfolded between a group of ice-addled young men over a weekend in suburban south-western Sydney is hard to fathom.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Twenty-year-old Dane McNeill was subject to what the coroner described as a "lingering death" – beaten, stabbed, bound and drugged before his body was stuffed into a suitcase, dumped in a reserve and set on fire.
Azam Charbaji, 26, and his brother Haysem, 24, were found guilty of the brutal murder by a jury on Wednesday after a trial lasting nearly a month in the NSW Supreme Court.
Haysem's then girlfriend Lexy May Jamieson, 26, was found guilty of accessory after the fact after she sought advice on how to clean up the murder scene and dispose of the body.
The linchpin of the Crown's case was Brendon Gallo, 21, who was present throughout the fateful weekend and gave evidence against his former friends.
Breaking down multiple times while testifying, Mr Gallo described how the brothers had started attacking Mr McNeill after he had asked them for money to help repay a debt.
The court heard the brothers had also had a falling out with Mr McNeill over a separate $3000 debt involving his on-off girlfriend, Jade Patterson.
Mr McNeill was stabbed, bound, force-fed Xanax and placed in the laundry of Haysem's Heckenberg apartment overnight. A Chux wipe was strapped to his bleeding wound.
The next day Mr McNeill was moved to Azam's home in Cartwright where, semi-conscious, he was taken to the bathroom and given more drugs.
Mr Gallo described hearing bangs and screams coming from the bathroom, and next saw his high-school friend's body wrapped in a white sheet.
Scared for his life, Mr Gallo said he followed the brothers' instructions, including buying a suitcase from Kmart, placing Mr McNeill's body into it, and setting fire to it in a reserve at Picnic Point in south-western Sydney.
He described how he, the three accused and Mr McNeill had used ice throughout the weekend, and how after burning the suitcase he returned home and "stared at my roof for hours thinking it was all a dream".
Mr Gallo said he had not been offered immunity for his role in the murder but said that, since he had stopped using the drug ice, he had decided that coming forward was the "right thing to do".
The trial heard that Jamieson had received advice to "go cook [the body], burn it, go and get rid of the DNA" and to "throw animal blood" on the murder scene.
A garbage truck driver found the smouldering suitcase containing Mr McNeill's charred remains.
An autopsy could not determine the cause of Mr McNeill's death, but said it was likely to have been a combination of stab wounds and the toxic effects of drugs.
After the verdict, Mr McNeill's parents – Peter and Rebecca McNeill – issued an emotional warning against using ice.
"We won't proclaim that [Dane] was perfect, he was not, he had his faults, but ice does that to people," Mr McNeill said.
"He went from a soft-hearted, perfect, beautiful person to, you know, getting involved in the wrong crowds and unfortunately he paid the price for that.
"I can't warn people enough to stay off ice."
The trio pleaded not guilty to the charges, and chatted to each other and laughed throughout the trial.
When the verdict was read out, Azam turned to his supporters in the gallery and stuck his thumbs up and winked.
His brother, Haysem, yelled out "f---ing dumb dogs" in the direction of Mr McNeill's supporters moments after one of them had called Jamieson a "f---ing dumb slut".
Jamieson, who was supported by a posse of friends each day of her trial, had her bail continued while the two brothers will remain in custody.
They face a sentencing hearing in December.
