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Victoria Police on Thursday released dramatic CCTV footage showing a man in black sprinting from a white Nissan Patrol as it bursts into flames on Amery Street in Reservoir—the final act of a meticulously planned hit that left a 21-year-old man dead in broad daylight.
The footage, obtained by investigators after a year-long probe into the murder of Athan Boursinos, captures the frantic getaway that followed the July 31, 2025 shooting in a laneway behind a home in Wollert, a semi-rural suburb about 30 kilometers north of Melbourne’s CBD. Police believe the killing was carried out by a four-man team, including two contract killers linked to a New South Wales organized crime group and two Victorian men who handled logistics.
“We are still working to establish the possible motive for Athan’s murder, though we have several lines of enquiry underway,” Detective Inspector Leigh Howse said in a statement. “Athan’s various connections to organized crime add a greater level of complexity to the investigation.”
Boursinos, who had no criminal record at the time of his death, was later identified as a suspect in the high-profile 2025 shooting of former Mongols bikie Sam “The Punisher” Abdulrahim—a revelation that reshaped the case. That connection, confirmed by Victoria Police in November, has fueled speculation that the murder was a targeted retaliation, though no official motive has been confirmed.
The chain of events following the shooting, pieced together through months of forensic analysis and witness interviews, reveals a sophisticated escape plan. The Nissan Patrol, stolen from a Reservoir address in June 2025, was set ablaze just 15 minutes after the shooting at around 9:15 a.m. Investigators believe three of the offenders then transferred to a grey Volkswagen Golf—also stolen—and drove to a home in Dallas, a suburb northwest of Reservoir.
CCTV footage released by police shows the trio leaving the Dallas property at 11:50 a.m. and entering a Isuzu D-Max, which had been driven to the location by a fourth alleged offender. The D-Max then dropped two men off in Reservoir before transporting the remaining pair to the Glenroy area. That vehicle was later found burnt out on Rosehill Boulevard in Mickleham, completing the pattern of vehicle destruction.
“The use of multiple stolen vehicles, each torched to destroy evidence, indicates a high level of planning and coordination, likely backed by significant resources,” said Dr. Michael Kennedy, a criminologist at the University of Melbourne who reviewed the case for The Guardian. “This is not a crime of passion—it’s a professional hit, and the clean-up operation suggests the perpetrators have experience in evading law enforcement.”
The footage released Thursday is the first visual evidence of the arson, and police hope it will jog the memory of anyone who saw the Nissan Patrol being abandoned or the men fleeing the scene. “Even the smallest detail—a person leaving a property, a vehicle spotted near the area—could be the missing piece we need,” Howse added.
The case has drawn parallels to recent high-profile organized crime hits in Australia, including the 2023 murder of gang figure Mark “Chopper” Read’s associate, where similar vehicle disposal methods were used. However, American readers may recall the 2019 execution-style murder of a New York gang member whose stolen getaway car was also burned to hide forensic evidence—a tactic increasingly common in interstate drug disputes.
Boursinos’ family has declined to comment publicly, but friends described him as a “normal kid” who became entangled in a world he didn’t fully understand. “He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, with the wrong people,” one friend told local media. “But no one deserves to be gunned down in a driveway.”
As of March 2025, no arrests have been made, and the investigation remains active. Police continue to appeal for dashcam footage from the Amery Street area around 9 a.m. on July 31, 2025, as well as any information about the grey Volkswagen Golf or the Isuzu D-Max’s movements before the arson.
The case highlights the growing reach of interstate organized crime networks, which exploit the 800-kilometer corridor between Sydney and Melbourne to move hitmen and weapons. “These groups are fluid, and they don’t respect state borders,” said Detective Superintendent Craig Darlow, a former federal agent now advising on the case. “The key is to disrupt their logistics—the vehicles, the safe houses, the people who look the other way.”
For now, the footage of a burning SUV in a quiet suburban street remains the most powerful clue in a case that has haunted detectives for a year—and a stark reminder that even in daylight, the shadows of organized crime can reach anywhere.
