A brother 'executed'

Stressed man hauls drugs to cope with murder

A Territory man's brother was murdered in a brutal "execution-style" killing in New South Wales, a Darwin court heard yesterday.

Darwin Magistrates Court heard Ronnie Bakos, 27, was on his way back to Darwin after giving evidence at his brother's inquest in Sydney when he was searched at Darwin Airport in February last year.

Police found 3.3g of cannabis stashed in a blue balloon in his underpants and charged him with possessing cannabis in a public place.

Bakos's lawyer Natalie Scattini said her client brought the cannabis back to Darwin for his own use because of the stress of his brother's murder.

"It appears it was execution-style where family were possibly involved," she told the court.

"He gave evidence at the coronial inquest into his brother's death. It was a very stressful time."

The body of Ronnie Bakos's 20-year-old brother Tony Bakos was found in the boot of his Toyota Camry sedan in May, 2002.

Police allegedly opened the car boot and found the body when residents reported a bad smell in the area.

Ms Scattini said Ronnie Bakos had been working with his brother painting houses when the 20-year-old was "violently and brutally murdered".

The results of the inquest were handed to the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions last year but Ms Scattini said no one had ever been charged in relation to the murder.

She told the court her client had recovered from a serious heroin and cocaine addiction in the years before his brother's death but "went straight back to heroin" afterwards.

The court heard Bakos had since completed the Territory Credit Court program and reduced his methadone dosage.

In December Bakos was sentenced in the Supreme Court to 16 month's prison - with eight months to serve - for other drug offences.

Magistrate Hugh Bradley added yesterday 28 days' jail for the February offence, to be served concurrently with Barkos's existing sentence.



Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Friday, 13 January 2006
Source: Northern Territory News (Australia)
Email: ntnmail@ntn.newsltd.com.au
Website: http://www.ntnews.com.au