The mother of a man shot five times in an unsolved murder remains angry and frustrated no one has been held accountable for his death, more than four years on.
And Dannette Vrijs believes the man the shooters were actually after that night - senior Mongrel Mob member Mark ‘Griff’ Griffiths - knows who killed her son and wants him to speak up.
Robert Nelson was fatally shot after three armed men stormed Griffiths’ Hamilton home about 1am on July 8, 2018.
Nelson’s partner Kahlee Marfell, then aged 20, and Griffiths’ 17-year-old nephew were also shot multiple times by the gunmen.
Nelson had no links to gangs and police confirmed to NZME that he was “in the wrong place at the wrong time” - a statement that brings little comfort to his distraught mother.
“I feel like I’ve lost the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Vrijs was celebrating her birthday with friends and family when Marfell arrived at the pub around midnight. Marfell and Nelson, 23, then left together about midnight.
Within an hour he would be dead.
With so much time passing and little feedback from police, Vrijs said she’d also given up on the investigation and had stopped asking how it was going.
She claimed she was told by police they believed they knew who killed her son but didn’t have enough evidence to lay charges.
It’s known that the shooters were there for Griffiths that night, as revealed at the sentencing of Marfell’s mother, Sharon, in September 2022, on drug charges.
Crown prosecutor Jacinda Hamilton told Justice Lang in the High Court at Hamilton that it was “far more likely” that her drug dealing led to the shooting as the home invaders were allegedly there looking for Griffiths.
Vrijs claimed that instead of running to the aid of the trio, Griffiths hid in his bedroom, as shots rained down on her son.
“I mean, what adult does that?”
Griffiths is currently in custody after pleading guilty to multiple drug dealing and possession charges.
He will be sentenced in February 2023.
Sharon Marfell was jailed for seven years on the drug charges.
It was just before midnight on July 7, when Marfell arrived at the Easy Tiger bar where Vrijs was celebrating her birthday with friends and colleagues.
Vrijs said she and Marfell didn’t get on so she told her son not to bring her back to her house. So when they left the pub, Nelson and Marfell went to Griffiths’ Matthews Crescent home instead.
The pair were still awake about 1am when they heard knocking at the front door. Marfell opened it and one of the three men asked if Mark Griffiths was home.
Sensing trouble, Marfell retreated but within seconds shots were being fired at her as she fled towards her bedroom.
Griffiths’ nephew came out to see what the commotion was and was also shot multiple times in the body and throat.
As Marfell was being shot, Nelson stepped in and shielded her from further bullets.
He was shot five times, Vrijs said.
A relative of Griffiths told the Herald in 2018 that Marfell - who broadcast a live video from her hospital bed - was shot in the upper thigh, with the bullet passing through one leg and penetrating her other thigh.
The nephew, who also tried to shield Marfell, was shot more than four times - including in the chin, shoulder and torso.
The pair have both since recovered.
The shooters left, but Vrijs claimed that at no time did Griffiths come to their rescue.
It would be 72 hours before she would get her son’s body back from his autopsy.
Vrijs believed Griffiths was keeping quiet due to the high likelihood of a gang being involved.
She believed someone linked to the Tribal Huk gang was involved.
When contacted in 2020 for comment, leader Jamie Pink denied any of his current members were involved, but said he’d been told it involved former members.
“There is a lot of speculation at this point but we are doing our part. There has been speculation the gang is involved and we are trying to find out if that is true,” Pink said at the time.
Vrijs said she’d only spoken to Griffiths once and that was soon after the incident.
He’d told her that “no one was supposed to be there that night,” she said.
Vrijs said she had tried multiple times to talk to Griffiths since; she’d even stood outside the Mongrel Mob Headquarters in Hamilton yelling for him to come out prior to his arrest for drug offending in 2020.
The anguish, more than four years on, was now too much to bear; she’d given up on the police and was angry with Griffiths.
She fought back tears as she described still struggling to sleep and how the thought of her son being gunned down haunted her while awake.
Vrijs was “devastated” by his death.
“I just want to remind people about my son who I feel has been totally forgotten.”
Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley, Waikato Criminal Investigations District Manager, said police were “absolutely determined” to hold those responsible for the shooting to account.
“Our thoughts remain with Robert’s family and those injured in the attack. We absolutely acknowledge and share their desire to see this investigation resolved.”
Pitkethley said police would continue to follow any lines of inquiry and act on any information provided to them.
“The gang involvement in the homicide has made the investigation challenging.
“We know the attack on the address that ended Robert’s life was not random and the address was targeted.
“Robert was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Pitkethley said the investigation had “progressed significantly” since its inception and police were grateful for information received from the public so far.
“People’s loyalties change over time and we encourage anyone with information to make contact with the Waikato Police.”
Anyone who has information that could help the investigation is urged to ring 105 quoting file number 180708/5778, or Crime Stoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The victim spent three months in hospital with severe injuries.