A man who was chased through Tuggeranong bushland by a trio who had plotted his murder has told a court of suffering "five years of sleepless nights, five years of looking over my shoulder".
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Alexander Raymond Iacuone, 23, Alexander Duffy, 24, and another man, who cannot be named because he was under 18 at the time, were found guilty of conspiring to kill the then 17-year-old in 2008.
During the trial, the court heard the men had planned to use a baseball bat to murder the victim, after an earlier falling out with Iacuone.
They lined a car boot with a shower curtain to stop his blood spreading, and obtained a shovel and mattock to bury his body.
The three men went to his house and lured him outside.
They then chased him through nearby bushland in Tuggeranong and eventually caught him.
He begged for his life, and a scuffle ensued.
The pair rolled down the spillway of a nearby dam on Lake Tuggeranong, and the victim was able to escape.
He then turned up at a strangers house, pleading for help. Authorities were called and the three men were arrested in their car near the victim's house.
The three men faced the ACT Supreme Court for the start of their sentencing proceedings on Thursday morning.
Crown prosecutor Shane Drumgold read out a statement prepared by the victim, telling of the impacts the "evil and sinister" crime had had on his life.
The victim's parents, in a separate statement, told the court how the ordeal had changed their family forever, and of the pain of having to wait five years for justice.
Since surviving the murder plot, the victim said he now constantly feared for his life, and had begun to see the faces of the three men when he was out in crowds.
The court heard of his paranoia, mistrust and fear of being around others.
"I don't understand why this happened, why they chose me or what I'd done to deserve it," the victim said.
"Most of my days are full of isolation. I don't have any friends. I find it hard to trust."
He said he had suffered five years of sleepless nights and nightmares.
The victim said he was grateful the stranger had decided to help the "broken, battered, bleeding, scared little boy", who had turned up on his doorstep.
He said he was glad he had survived, and that he thought he had saved the lives of others by bringing the trio's crime to the attention of authorities.
The sentencing hearing continues on Thursday afternoon.
