A killer from a small town in country NSW has confessed to the murder of a Canberra man, who was gunned down in his doorway in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Baradine man Gary Michael Taylor, 24, pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court on Wednesday to a joint commission murder charge laid over the death of Glenn Walewicz.
He was brought up from the court cells for a matter of moments, standing beside defence lawyer Taden Kelliher and hurriedly pulling down a green face mask to enter his plea.
"Guilty, your honour," he told magistrate James Lawton, who committed him to the ACT Supreme Court, where he will face a maximum penalty of life in jail when he is sentenced.
Chief Crown prosecutor Anthony Williamson withdrew a related charge of attempted aggravated burglary, and Mr Lawton remanded Taylor in custody at Canberra's jail.
Taylor is the first person to admit his involvement in the death of Mr Walewicz, who was shot dead in June 2021 after answering a late-night knock at the door of his unit in Phillip.
The case initially had investigators stumped, with Detective Inspector Mark Steel describing the police probe as "a real whodunnit" characterised by the lack of any obvious motive.
Performing what Detective Inspector Steel called "good old-fashioned police work", homicide detectives from ACT Policing eventually narrowed in on a group of suspects.
Their prevailing theory was that this group may have intended to invade a different unit in the Connorville Gardens public housing complex, where Mr Walewicz, 48, lived.
Detectives used cell tower data and footage from bus, speed and red light cameras, among other things, as they built cases against six people, who were arrested in quick succession around the first anniversary of Mr Walewicz's death.
One of the people taken into custody was Taylor, who was apprehended in NSW on June 9 and extradited to the ACT.
The 24-year-old's precise involvement in the murder is unclear, with the facts surrounding his offending yet to be agreed and tendered in court.
It is understood, however, that investigators allege Taylor was involved in a conspiracy to commit a home invasion, and that he was present when an 18-year-old man fired the shot that killed Mr Walewicz.
The teenager, who was just 17 at the time, is behind bars on remand after pleading not guilty to a murder charge that remains before the ACT Children's Court. He cannot be named.
He is due to make his next appearance on October 4, while Taylor's matter will now go before the Supreme Court registrar for an administrative hearing on September 15.
A 13-year-old boy previously accused of involvement in Mr Walewicz's killing has already had his case finalised, with ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC deciding last month to withdraw two charges that included joint commission murder.
The remaining three defendants are accused of being accessories to Mr Walewicz's murder after the fact.
Dunlop man Reatile Ncube, 19, Holt woman Nicole Williams, 38, and Glen Innes resident Jayden Douglas Williams, 19, all remain before the ACT Magistrates Court.
Jayden Williams is yet to enter a plea, while the other two have pleaded not guilty. All three are behind bars on remand at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.
