Mastermind behind mistaken identity murder gets seven years, could be released in 18 months

The woman who organised a 2021 home invasion that resulted in the murder of Glenn Walewicz in Phillip has been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment. With time already spent in custody, her non-parole period will end in August 2026.

Meanwhile, Glenn Walewicz’s loved ones are left to live with their “permanent and unjust loss” stemming from “the injustice” of his murder in a case of mistaken identity, ACT Supreme Court Justice David Mossop said while sentencing Nicole Williams, 40, on Friday (28 February) for her role organising the botched home invasion.

Documents previously tendered to the court say that on the evening of 10 June 2021, a 17-year-old, a 12-year-old boy, then-23-year-old Gary Taylor and 18-year-old getaway driver Reatile Ncube met up at Williams’ home, where she told them to do a “run through” of two people’s home.

She gave a .22 pump-action rifle to the 17-year-old and told him and Taylor that she thought that one of the intended targets had a gun and might shoot at them.

That evening, Ncube waited in the car while Taylor, the 17-year-old and the boy walked up Mansfield Place in Phillip to carry out the home invasion, but the trio went to the wrong home and ended up knocking on the door of Mr Walewicz.

When Mr Walewicz opened the door, the 17-year-old fired the gun, hitting him in the neck. He died shortly afterwards.

In the aftermath of the murder, Justice Mossop noted Williams threatened the 12-year-old he would be shot if he told anyone about the murder and tried to hide the gun.

In August 2023, Williams pleaded guilty to charges of accessory to murder and being knowingly concerned in an attempt to commit an aggravated burglary.

During a sentencing hearing earlier this week, Williams’ defence barrister John Purnell SC had argued there was no evidence that she knew the gun was loaded when she gave it to the 17-year-old.

Justice Mossop disagreed in part, saying that while the agreed facts weren’t sufficient to establish she knew it loaded, they did establish that she “intended that it be loaded and hence able to be used as a firearm” in the planned home invasion.

During sentencing, Justice Mossop acknowledged Williams had endured “what she described as a rough upbringing” and started using methamphetamine three years before her arrest.

However, Justice Mossop rejected the opinion of a psychologist who argued mental health issues had contributed to the offending.

He said the link between William’s mental health was “peculative”, and that “the simpler and more likely explanation” was that Williams was motivated by a desire for money and drugs.

“[Williams was] sophisticated enough and thinking clearly enough to arrange for others to perform the home invasion on her behalf,” he said.

Since her arrest in mid-2022, Williams has started working as a baker and barista in the Alexander Maconochie Centre, and has attended counselling and completed a course for substance misuse.

Justice Mossop said those “reports of her participation and employment” were good indicators of rehabilitation, though her current overall prospects were “guarded”.

Williams was one of multiple people arrested about a year after Mr Walewicz’s death. Taylor, the 17-year-old, Ncube and Jayden have already been sentenced, while the charge against the 12-year-old was dropped.

Justice Mossop accepted a request that victim impact statements written by Mr Walewicz’s family be put forward if she applies for parole.