Lametta Fadlallah, a victim of a double shooting in Sydney who was blatantly murdered by a hitman over the weekend, was slain, and her bereaved son cried out, “Nobody deserves this.”
In the back of a Toyota 4WD, Ms. Fadlallah, 48, was shot and killed Saturday evening outside her house in Panania, southwest Sydney, along with her hairdresser.
Investigators believe she was targeted because to her ties to organised crime as the previous girlfriend of two well-known underworld figures, 200 kg standover guy Helal Safi and former mobster Shadi Derbas.
Abraham Derbas, the adult son of Ms. Fadlallah, told Daily Mail Australia on Monday night that his mother should be remembered as a “really kind person,” while ZamZam Derbas, his grandmother, called the incident a “tragedy” that had never occurred before.
Nothing like to this has ever occurred before, she claimed.
She was her route to her new partner’s renowned Lebanese restaurant Massaya in South Strathfield to attend an engagement party on the night of her horrifying death.
Amy Hazouri, 39, was invited to the party and had just been by Ms. Fadlallah’s house to blow-dry her client’s hair for the special event.
Just as they were ready to leave, the hairdresser who was seated close to Ms. Fadlallah was killed by gunfire.
Ms. Hazouri was allegedly just at the wrong place at the wrong time, according to the police.
Mounir Sajad, her former brother-in-law, reportedly told the Sydney Morning Herald that he had begged Ms. Hazouri not to interact with Ms. Fadlallah because of her repute as a member of the underworld.
Ms. Hazouri, though, didn’t think she was in any danger.
In a devastating blog entry, her sister Manal Raunegger revealed that Ms. Hazouri was the only source of income for the family back in Lebanon, where an economic crisis has led to shortages of food, gasoline, and medications.
“We urgently need finances to conduct funeral ceremonies and transport her remains to Lebanon for final disposition.” She added, “Our mother is ill and can’t come to Australia to visit her daughter.
We need urgent finances at this time since we cannot afford this service, therefore we are asking family, friends, and the community to give what they can and spread the word about this website. We value your support and every dime. I pray that her soul is at peace.
Mrs. Derbas continues to reside in the same neighbourhood where Edward Lee, an innocent Korean youngster, was murdered by a member of Ms. Fadlallah’s former husband Shadi’s group during a year of violent unrest in southwest Sydney.
After Telopea Street gang member Mustapha Dib killed 14-year-old Lee with a knife at a birthday party a few doors away in 1998, there was a police raid that exacerbated gang violence.
Shadi Derbas and other gang members participated in their own double shooting the same year while seeing famed mobster Michael Kanaan kill two guys outside the Five Dock Hotel.
Shadi Derbas was found guilty of obstructing the investigation into Adam Wright and Michael Hurle’s murders in Five Dock.
Later, Telopea gang members reportedly took part in drive-by shootings and shot up the Lakemba police station.
The gang disbanded in 2000 when Shadi Derbas was found guilty.
According to reports, Shadi Derbas has long ago abandoned a life of crime and hasn’t been dating Ms. Fadlallah for a number of years.
The distraught mother of Ms. Fadlallah spoke to Daily Mail Australia on Monday and lamented the fact that her daughter’s reputation had been “trashed” when she should have been “remembered fondly.”
The family got several calls, according to her sister-in-law, who thanked everyone for their sympathies and encouraging comments.
The family requested privacy so they could mourn in peace.
With her 16-year-old son, Ms. Fadlallah leased the duplex where she was killed for five years.
Suellen, the property’s owner, described Ms. Fadlallah as a dependable renter who paid rent on time and kept the place tidy.
She said that the mother had just placed a down payment for a security system that would install three cameras pointed towards the street where the mother was subsequently shot.
Suellen informed Daily Mail Australia that the “furniture in there was pricey and she had cameras put there.”
She had a cleaning woman come in, so she was neat and tidy.
Suellen said, “At the time of the assassination, I felt I heard a huge boom, but at first I didn’t realise there had been a gunshot on the street.”
She said, “I just heard one large explosion, like a giant blast, rather than numerous bullets, and when I glanced out onto the street, I could see no one.”
The soccer stadium Amour Park is behind us, so I assumed it was coming from there since it was louder. I didn’t hear sirens or see the cops arrive until 30 minutes later.
Police then discovered that the Toyota 4WD’s driver was a 20-year-old guy. Despite being fired at, the two ladies who were inside the car managed to escape by driving away.
The front automobile also included a 16-year-old girl, who amazingly lived.
The driver summoned emergency services after he turned into a safe area to try to rescue the two shot ladies in the backseat.
The distraught father of the “innocent” hairdresser described his daughter as a “angel” and expressed his desire that he had had away instead.
Khaled, Ms. Hazouri’s distraught father, sobbed on Monday night as he spoke about his lovely daughter.
He said, “Angel, angel,” to Nine News. Friendly toward all persons.
Mr. Hazouri said in his limited English that his daughter was always smiling and ready to provide a helping hand.
The distraught father wailed, and a translator heard him say that he wished he had passed away rather than Amy.
Ms. Fadlallah may have been slain because she “knew too much,” according to a person in the underground who knew her, who spoke to the Daily Telegraph.
She jumped immediately into life. They said that she would carry the lads’ firearms, provide justifications when necessary, and associate with criminals right up until her death.
She always believed herself to be intelligent, but Sydney has never been in more danger. Killing women so blatantly is on another level.
Sydney’s streets have seen an explosion of well planned gunshots over the last two years.
The two murdered women are now the horrific gang war’s 15th and 16th victim.