A 33-year-old man has pleaded guilty to shooting a handyman dead in Central Western New South Wales in 2020.
Wearing prison greens, Aaron Hegedus today appeared via video-link in Dubbo Local Court, where he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Frank Smith, 48.
Police said Mr Smith was taken to Wellington Hospital with a gunshot wound to his abdomen on the afternoon of April 27, 2020.
The grandfather could not be revived and died later that night.
Hegedus was initially charged with murder after his arrest 18-months later in October 2021, but the charge was downgraded to manslaughter.
Officers from the Orana Mid-Western Police District undertook initial inquiries into the death, before detectives took charge of the investigation under Strike Force Libani.
Police said they believed Mr Smith may have been shot on Reid Street, before collapsing in the front yard of a home on Thornton Street, before he was driven to hospital by a neighbour.
Following an extensive 18-month investigation and numerous appeals, detectives recovered a firearm which was ballistically linked to the death of Mr Smith.
At the time of his arrest, police alleged Hegedus was known to Mr Smith.
The case was adjourned to Dubbo District Court where a sentence date will be set in May.
