The assassination, as police here have
billed it, took place hours before a security guard took post for a
nighttime shift at Macris’ four-story home in the posh residential
district of Panorama, Voula, about 13kilometres south of Athens.
John Macris (pictured right with wife Viktoria
Karida), a leading Sydney underworld figure, was shot dead as he sat in
his car outside his home in Greece on Wednesday night, local time
John Macris, 46, was shot multiple times before his assassin yelled: ‘I’m going to finish him off’
‘When we saw his bodyguards checking
rubbish bins outside his home, we thought it was odd, but did not make
much of it at the time’ said a female neighbour living along the
cliff-side road where the killing took place.
‘But now, in hindsight, it all makes sense. They [the guards] were probably looking for bombs.’
The killing has sent shock waves across
the posh, tranquil and secluded neighbourhood which the Sydney gangster
chose years ago, to start up a new, crime-free life with his wife and
model Viktoria Karida and their two children.
‘He finished building the home in record
time,’ said Gabriel Parastatides, a neighbour and among the oldest
residents along the tree-lined Troias Street.
‘We would see fancy cars parked outside,
super tight security measures but we coughed it all open to another uber
rich person who’s moved in the block.’
‘We were truly shocked to hear of his
previous life. We had no clue we were living next door to a mobster. He
never gave us that impression,’ Mr Parastatides said.
‘He was a very low profile bloke; not too friendly but always polite with all of us here.
‘He also seemed like a great dad.’
Mr Parastatides was in his home at the time of the attack.
‘No one saw anything. No one heard anything. We just walked out and saw the John’s body in a pool of blood. It was horrifying.’
After dating PR queen Roxy Jacenko, John Macris settled down with former playboy model Viktoria Karida (pictured)
Police say they have launched a massive
manhunt for Mr Macris’ killer. They said investigators had yet to obtain
footage from a rash of security cameras fixed along the front entrance
of the Macris estate.
Still, footage obtained from other CCTV
cameras along Troias Street have spotted the killer, the Athens-based
Alpha television network reported.
The identity of the assailant, the report
said, had not been identified but the image showed a tall man, around
180cm, dressed in dark clothes.
Police have refused to comment.
‘It is too early to make any statement,’ said Police Spokesman Theodore Chronopoulos.
‘We are in the first steps of this investigation.’
Since the shooting, police have gone
door to door, taking testimonies of neighbours. Many of them contacted
on Friday refused to speak.
‘Everyone has seen something, heard
something,’ said Joanna Parastratides. ‘But everyone now has clammed up
because of the violent shooting.
‘Wouldn’t you?’ she quipped.
John Macris had been alternating between living in Greece and Australia for the past seven years
Alex Macris (pictured at his wedding to ex-wife
Jessica Ingham) has made a mercy dash from Sydney to Athens following
the execution style shooting of his gangster older brother John
His funeral was expected to be held on
Friday in Athens, but a source close to the family said they were
waiting for his brother Alex to arrive before the service goes ahead.
Alex Macris, 37, was in Sydney on Thursday when he got the news his brother had been shot dead.
At the time he got the dreaded phone call
Alex was visiting the young daughter he shares with his ex-wife and
heiress to the chicken fortune, Jessica Ingham.
Like his brother, Alex also splits his time between both Sydney and Athens, following the breakdown of his marriage.
Alex and Jess tied the knot in an elaborate ceremony in November 2013 rumoured to have cost in excess of $500,000.
Among the guests was Jess’ close friend Roxy Jacenko, who previously dated John Macris.
Alex (right) was with the daughter he shares
with ex-wife Jessica Ingham, a close friend of PR queen Roxy Jacenko
(left), when he got the call telling him his brother had been gunned
down
Alex Macris married Jess Ingham (right), the
heiress to the Ingham chicken fortune, in an extravagant wedding in
2013. Pictured with her mother Sue Ingham and model Adam Williams
The killer had been waiting for Macris and shot him from the passenger side seat of his car, the
Greek City Times reported.
Witnesses to the brutal murder say they
heard the gunman shout, ‘I’m going to finish him off’ before firing a
final, fatal shot,
The Daily Telegraph reported.
Two of his young children were reportedly inside the house when he died.
Macris was known to both Australian and Greek authorities, and was nicknamed was ‘Australo’.
Greek authorities believe Macris had been involved in a drug deal and are hunting three gunmen.
John Macris and Karida (pictured), who stars on reality show My Style Rocks, have two kids
He was shot repeatedly while in his car, before a final, fatal shot was fired as he tried to get out
