Two men, Jesse Evans, 34, and Manase Fakahau, 19, have been refused bail at Bankstown Local Court on Wednesday after being charged with the murder of 65-year-old Kim Duncan, who was shot dead in her home in April.
According to NSW Police, Duncan was not the intended target of the shooting, which was potentially the unintended consequence of an escalating “beef” between individuals known to police.
A 21-year-old woman and a 34-year-old man were inside the home at the time of the shooting but were not injured.
The occupants of the home, who had lived there for six to eight weeks, were known to police.
“We believe the people involved had a grudge, an argument, or a beef with somebody that lived at that location,” Detective Superintendent Grant Healey said.
The two men charged were also known to police, and the alleged drive-by shooting was a “cowardly response” to the circumstances causing the grudge.
“While they’re trying to give somebody a lesson, they’ve (allegedly) killed some little kid’s grandma,” Healey said.
Duncan’s family were glad to hear news of the arrests but still angry about her death. Healey said the family were seeking justice for the senseless killing.
The shooting occurred on Dickens Rd at Ambarvale, where three men were seen getting out of a sedan and firing shots at the home in CCTV footage released in May.
Forensic teams were seen analysing what appeared to be bullet holes covering the front of the home in April. Neighbours heard a man yelling from the backyard of the home that his mother had been shot.
Evans and Fakahau are due to face court again in September. One man allegedly involved in the shooting remains on the run.