Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Canberra Times
The Canberra Times
Hannah Neale

Mastermind of fatal home invasion attempt threatened to 'bash' co-offender

Nicole Williams, right, masterminded the botched home invasion attempt that ended with the murder of Glenn Walewicz, left. Pictures ACT Policing, Facebook

The mastermind of an attempted home invasion which ended in murder, threatened to "bash" a co-offender if they did not hide the murder weapon.

Nicole Williams, 39, held a maroon jumper over her face while sitting in the dock in the ACT Supreme Court on Monday.

She had previously pleaded guilty to attempted aggravated burglary and accessory after the fact to murder.

The charges were laid following the June 2021 murder of Glenn Walewicz, who was shot dead in the doorway of his unit in a case of mistaken identity.

On Monday, prosecutor Trent Hickey applied for an adjournment stating there had been delays in receiving and submitting documents to the court.

Justice Chrissa Loukas-Karlsson adjourned the sentencing, but said it was "unfortunate".

"[Mr Walewicz] was entirely innocent and he was shot in circumstances where the offenders went to the wrong address," she said.

"How does a family protect themselves from lightning? It is such an appalling crime which should never have occurred."

When Justice Loukas-Karlsson spoke to the family of Mr Walewicz, Nicole Williams looked downward, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.

"It is a tragedy that breaks the soul," the judge said.

"Glenn should not have died.

"Everyone in this courtroom recognises the pain this family is going through."

Jayden Williams, who has been sentenced for his involvement. Picture Facebook

Agreed facts for Nicole Williams state she recruited three assailants, including two children and Gary Taylor, 25, to "do them fullas over".

Her son, Jayden Douglas Williams, has been jailed for his involvement in aiding and abetting the attempted aggravated burglary.

The intended targets of the home invasion were two known drug-dealers, who owed Nicole Williams money.

On the evening of the killing, the recruits met at Nicole Williams' Holt home, where she told them to do a "run through" and instructed them to take any money or drugs found at the premises.

Gary Taylor, who was previously jailed for more than 10 years. Picture Facebook

Nicole Williams gave a 17-year-old boy a .22 pump-action rifle, which he would ultimately use to shoot Mr Walewicz.

She then placed a "crack pipe" in the mouth of a 12-year-old boy, telling him "don't worry" and to inhale, before sending him out with Taylor and the other juvenile.

"The offender regularly provided methamphetamine and cannabis to children staying at her premises," the facts state.

Reatile Ncube, then aged 18, drove the trio of would-be home invaders to Phillip, where a 17-year-old would ultimately kill Mr Walewicz, 48, with a single shot to the neck.

Reatile Ncube, who was an accessory to the murder. Picture by Blake Foden

After a year of painstaking investigations, Nicole Williams was arrested at Canberra's train station with a one-way ticket to travel interstate.

Detectives arrested all of the offenders in June 2022.

Charges against the 12-year-old boy were discontinued, while the shooter is scheduled to begin sentencing for murder in May.

The murder weapon, a .22 pump-action Winchester rifle, was initially in the possession of another man who regularly stayed at Nicole Williams' home.

Before the killing, the other man would shoot the gun in the backyard of the home, in a residential neighborhood, about three times per week.

At some stage before the murder, he left the home.

The gun, which had been stolen during a burglary in Orange, NSW, was placed under Nicole Williams' bed.

She would later give the gun to the 17-year-old shooter, who is said to have kept the rifle in his possession after the murder.

Several months afterwards, police arrested the man on unrelated matters and discovered a video of him shooting the murder weapon, which was distinctive because the butt of the rifle had been sawn-off.

A still from CCTV footage of the murder of Glenn Walewicz. Picture supplied

By October 2021, police had intercepted Nicole Williams' phone and found messages relating to telling the 17-year-old to dispose of the gun "before someone dobs him in".

Further messages reveal she was trying to sell a "bang bang" and had told the boy "they are coming around to have a look at it".

In late 2021, four unknown men, carrying a box containing the murder weapon, visited Taylor and told him to hide the gun, "and that if he did not he would be bashed".

The men said they were under instructions from Nicole Williams.

Police eventually found the gun under Taylor's bed in a home in Baradine, NSW, in June 2022.

Williams' case is set to go before a registrar later this month.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.