A mother and son are set to stand trial after they allegedly planned a home invasion and helped a killer avoid arrest or prosecution, knowing the latter had murdered a Canberra man in his doorway.
Jayden Douglas Williams, 19, appeared in the ACT Magistrates Court via phone on Wednesday, when he pleaded not guilty to charges of accessory to murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated burglary.
Special magistrate Margaret Hunter committed the Glen Innes man, who has been behind bars on remand since his arrest and extradition in June, to the ACT Supreme Court for trial.
The teenager follows the path taken by his mother, Nicole Williams, who was committed for trial earlier this month after denying the same charges, along with two counts of recruiting a child to engage in criminal activity.
The Holt woman, aged in her late 30s, has previously been described by the ACT's chief prosecutor as "the architect" of a botched home invasion that ended in the murder of a "completely innocent" man.
Glenn Walewicz, 48, was shot dead in the doorway of his Phillip unit in June 2021, allegedly by a Canberra boy aged 17 at the time in question.
The alleged shooter, who cannot legally be named, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.
However, country NSW man Gary Michael Taylor, 24, has pleaded guilty to a charge of joint commission murder, admitting he was present when Mr Walewicz was shot dead in a suspected case of mistaken identity.
Homicide detectives claim Nicole Williams sent Taylor and the alleged shooter to Phillip, along with another child, with orders to steal cash or drugs from the home of two dealers who owed her debts.
They allegedly went to the wrong address and arrived at Mr Walewicz's door by mistake, chief prosecutor Anthony Williamson said when Nicole Williams was denied bail in early September.
A prosecution case statement, tendered during the failed bail application, alleges a number of people accused of involvement in the murder met up at Nicole Williams' home on the evening in question.
The Holt woman allegedly made the younger child, who was 12 years old at the time, smoke methamphetamine before sending those accused of being present during the murder to carry out the home invasion.
The trio was allegedly driven to and from the scene by Dunlop man Reatile Ncube, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of accessory to murder.
According to the prosecution, the group went back to Nicole Williams' home after the incident and she asked them: "What happened? Where's my drugs?"
When one of them replied that they had just "shot someone in the face", the elder Williams allegedly screamed at him to "shut up" and warned him the same thing might happen to him if he told anyone.
She then allegedly sent Jayden Williams two text messages. One said "he shot him in the face son scary", while the other read "the lad died AFP page".
The teenage Williams had earlier allegedly played a role in plotting the home invasion by sending text messages about plans to "do over" the drug dealers who were said to be the intended targets.
Having now been committed to the Supreme Court, both mother and son are now awaiting trial dates.
Taylor, who had the murder weapon hidden under his bed when he was arrested in the small north-western NSW town of Baradine, is due to be sentenced in that court next March.
Ncube remains before the Magistrates Court, while the alleged shooter is the subject of a Children's Court case.
All five people before the courts are currently remanded in custody.
The younger child allegedly present during the shooting also initially faced charges, including joint commission murder, but Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC withdrew them in July.
