$50,000 contract to kill my son

A contract worth as much as $50,000 was taken out on a man whose remains were found in bushland last year, his mother told a court hearing yesterday.

Eve Robinson, 51, said she believed a man named Michael Kalitsis took out a contract to kill her son, Marshall ``Nick'' Haritos.

She said she understood it was worth between $30,000 to $50,000.

Defence lawyer John Lawrence then asked: ``Was this the same Kalitsis, who was involved in a firearm incident with your son ... outside a nightclub?''

She replied: ``Yes.'' She said in a police statement an associate of Mr Kalitis' had pulled a gun on her son in Darwin's Edmunds St in November 2003.

Mrs Robinson was the first to give evidence at a committal hearing for three people accused of murdering Mr Haritos, which began yesterday.

Mr Haritos' fiance Diane Elise Syrch, 19, who goes by the name of Elise, has been charged with two counts of murder.

Jeremiah Nicholas James Burns, 24, and Shane Patrick Thomas, 27, have each been charged with three counts of murder.

They were not required to enter a plea.

Mrs Robinson told Darwin Magistrates Court she visited her son in November 2003 because she was ``concerned'' about the firearm incident and reports of her son's drug taking.

``But when I arrived my son showed no signs of drug taking,'' she said.

When she visited for a second time last July, Mrs Robinson said she believed she was being watched by a man on a Harley Davidson motorbike or similar make.

``When you went to the swimming pool at Nightcliff you saw a matt- black Harley Davidson following you?'' defence lawyer Colin McDonald QC asked.

``Yes,'' Mrs Robinson replied, ``The rider was observing me.''

The woman said she saw the same bike and rider in Darwin's city centre the next day.

``It was unnerving that someone was looking at me, watching me,'' Mrs Robinson said.

On the same morning Mrs Robinson said she saw her son wave and grin at her as he drove past her down Dick Ward Drive.

``That was the last time I saw my son alive,'' she said.

When she did not hear from him the day after, Mrs Robinson said she looked through her son's belongings and found his mobile phone, his skipper's licence and a photograph of his deceased sister Yolande, ``which he always kept with him''.

She also went to see Elise Syrch.

``She said the last time she saw him was on Wednesday morning at about 6am when she went to work,'' Mrs Robinson said.

``I asked if they'd argued ... she said, `no'.'' Mrs Robinson said when she told Syrch she was going to report the matter to police Syrch ``became alarmed''.

``She said `no, no, police. I don't want to speak to the police'. She didn't want them coming to the unit. As we got to the car she said she would tell me if she heard anything.''

Under questioning from defence lawyers, Mrs Robinson said she received a phone call from Syrch's mother in February 2004 telling her Syrch was in hospital after being hit by Mr Haritos.

She also said she knew her son had been charged with drug offences after police searched his Fannie Bay home in December 2003.

The case was adjourned until 10am tomorrow.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Tue, 22 March 2005
Source: Northern Territory News (Australia)
Author: Rebecca Hewett
Copyright: 2005 Northern Territory News
Contact: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://ntnews.news.com.au/