Arabic version: عائلة سامويل ليشتشاك تواجه تايرون راسل في قضية القتل غير العمد

According to ABC News, relatives of Samuel Liszczak addressed Tyrone Russell in the Sydney Supreme Court during sentencing submissions after Russell was found guilty of manslaughter for unlawfully killing the 30-year-old. A jury found Russell not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter in March. Cory James Glass was found guilty of being an accessory after the manslaughter and firearms offences.

Russell, 35, and Glass, 29, were arrested on November 9, 2023, on the banks of the Macleay River at Kempsey, following a 13-hour police operation on the NSW Mid North Coast. The manhunt began after reports of shots fired along the Pacific Highway between Taree and Port Macquarie. During the trial, the court heard Liszczak had been shooting at cars before Russell shot him in the head and dumped his body. Police later found the body on Fernbank Creek Road near Port Macquarie.

Liszczak’s cousin, Madison Wiggins, asked Russell why he had not called Triple Zero for help. She said he instead chose to push Liszczak’s “lifeless body out of a moving vehicle”. Liszczak’s mother, Dee Lianos, said in a statement read to the court that losing her son had altered her world and left her thinking about the life he did not get to live.

His sister, Alex Liezack, described him as her protector, while his aunt, Kristy Liszczak, said he was “always there for everybody” despite having served years in maximum-security prison. She told the court he had made wrong choices and served time for those crimes, but was intelligent, creative, a good listener and had impeccable manners.

Justice Richard Weinstein said the actions of Russell and Glass were unsophisticated and that it was inevitable they would be caught. The court heard the trio were travelling with 89 grams of cocaine; the judge said there was no evidence it was intended for supply. The sentencing hearing for Russell and Glass is due to continue on December 17.