Grieving family will 'never understand' decisions made by killer

The family of a man who was shot dead during a 13-hour police operation on the NSW Mid North Coast has addressed his killer in the Supreme Court.

Tyrone Russell, 35, and Cory James Glass, 29, were arrested on November 9, 2023, on the banks of the Macleay River at Kempsey. 

The manhunt began after reports of shots fired in the early hours of the morning along the Pacific Highway between Taree and Port Macquarie.

During a trial that began in February, the court heard Samuel Liszczak was shooting at cars on the Pacific Highway before Russell shot the 30-year-old in the head and dumped his body.

The court was told the trio smoked crack cocaine before they drove from Melbourne to Sydney in a ute packed with drugs and firearms.  

Police found Mr Liszczak's body on Fernbank Creek Road, near Port Macquarie.

In March this year, a jury found Russell not guilty of murder but guilty of manslaughter. 

Glass was found guilty of being an accessory after the manslaughter, along with firearms offences.

Sentencing submissions began today in the Sydney Supreme Court, which heard from some of Mr Liszczak's relatives.

His cousin, Madison Wiggins, addressed Russell in her statement.

"Why didn't you call Triple Zero [000] and call for help then?" she said.

"Instead, you chose to push his lifeless body out of a moving vehicle.

"That is something I will never understand and never be OK with."

Mr Liszczak's mother, Dee Lianos, had a statement read aloud in the court on her behalf.

She said losing her son made it feel like her world was altered.

"I lie awake thinking about who he might have become, what he might be doing now, the life he didn't get to live,"

the statement said.

"It's changed everything, how I see the world, how I see life itself."

Mr Liszczak's sister, Alex Liezack, described how her brother was her protector.

"He would put pocket money in my socks when I had no pockets, he would carry me when I broke my arm," she said.

Kristy Liszczak, Mr Liszczak's aunty, told the court her nephew was "always there for everybody" despite serving years in maximum-security prison.

"Sam made some wrong choices and regardless of how they came about he did time for those crimes,"

Ms Liszczak said.

"He was intelligent, creative, a good listener, his manners were impeccable.

"He was always there for everybody; that's who he was."

During the sentencing hearing, Justice Richard Weinstein told the court the actions of Russell and Glass were unsophisticated and that it was inevitable they would be caught.

"Both accused do not behave in a very sophisticated way," Justice Weinstein said.

"They walk around town, are caught on CCTV in dozens of places, then go down the river and put stuff easily found."

The court heard the trio were travelling with 89 grams of cocaine.

"It seems to me that probably was for personal use or use amongst that group," Justice Weinstein said.

"There was no evidence he was going to supply it once he got to wherever he was going.

"It's all about split-second decision making."

The sentencing hearing for both Russell and Glass is due to continue on December 17.