Homicide Squad detectives have charged a seventh person with murder as part of an ongoing investigation into the death of Vergel Velasquez in Sydney’s west last year.
About 4pm on December 30, emergency services were called to a unit block on Mia Mia Street, Girraween, following reports a group of men had been involved in a physical altercation.
Upon arrival, officers located 42-year-old Vergel Velasquez (pictured) who was suffering from severe head injuries in the stairwell of the complex.
He was treated at the scene before being taken to Westmead Hospital in a critical condition, where he died from his injuries about 5.20pm the following day.
Inquiries into the incident were commenced by officers from Cumberland Police Area Command before detectives from the State Crime Command’s Homicide Squad took carriage of the investigation under Strike Force Brallo.
As part of ongoing inquiries, officers executed search warrants at units at Granville and homes at Moree earlier this year.
So far during the investigation, five men – aged 39, 41, 42, 49 and 50 – and a 35-year-old woman have been charged. They all remain before the courts.
Following further inquiries, strike force officers arrested a 44-year-old man at Newcastle Police Station yesterday morning. He has been charged with murder.
The man was remanded in custody and appeared at Newcastle Local Court, where he was formally refused bail to reappear at Parramatta Local Court on January 14.
