Sydney auto wrecker Hasan Dastan engaged three men to steal vehicles so he could repurpose and onsell them before his 1995 murder, a jury has been told.
On Wednesday, Edward Dunstan said he was aware of his father's criminal activity but did not know when the stolen cars were procured.
Mr Dunstan, who was previously known as Ercan or Eddie Dastan, told police in 2020 that his father hired three men, an Australian called Scotty, a Pole called Larry and a Maltese man called Johnny, as part of the scheme.
"You told police that your father would pay these guys to steal cars and then he would change the compliance plates on those cars," said defence barrister Ertunc Ozen SC.
However, in a police interview in 1995, Mr Dunstan said his father had only been dealing in a few stolen car doors and had received a fine.
On Wednesday, Mr Ozen pointed out that what was told to police in 2020 was much more serious than the version of events given in 1995.
"That's more than just trading in a couple of stolen doors, isn't it Mr Dunstan?" the barrister asked.
"Not in my opinion," Mr Dunstan replied.
The questioning took place during the NSW Supreme Court jury trial of Kubilay Kilincer who has been accused of the brutal murder of his boss Mr Dastan at his Esy Auto Dismantlers business in Blacktown on December 11, 1995.
He was found dead in a pool of blood lying partially underneath a car.
A metal pipe was shoved six centimetres into his mouth and his severe head injuries were consistent with an attack using a bloodied sledgehammer that lay nearby.
Kilicincer, 60, was allegedly about to be fired for pilfering money from the business to pay off his debts when the murder occurred. He has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The jury heard that Mr Dastan and his son had heated arguments in which both threatened to kill each other in the months before Mr Dunstan moved out. Upset about his family's preferential treatment of his sister Yasemin Sevim, he cut contact with them.
He told police that his father owed him $10,000 but the last $2000 of this had been paid off in late November 1995 when a Camero was transferred into his name.
In the police interview, Mr Dunstan said he was at home on the morning of the murder and raced out of the house when he heard something had happened at his father's business.
On arriving at the Blacktown premises, he was seen furiously shouting at Ms Sevim, blaming her for the death.
"I was fighting with my father. Because of them, I was separated from them and I felt guilty that he died because I wasn't with him," he said.
The trial continues on Thursday.
