MAN IN COURT OVER FATAL CORIO SHOOTING:
Alleged killer waves to women during court appearance
A MAN has faced court over the alleged murder of Chris Jacobs in Corio this month.
John Lawrence Nelis, 36, appeared in custody at Geelong Magistrates’ Court on Monday for a filing hearing.
Homicide Squad detectives on Friday charged the Lovely Banks man with murder over the shooting death of Mr Jacobs.
Police had been on the hunt for the 39-year-old’s killer since July 4, when Mr Jacobs was gunned down at a Chaffey Square property.
Emergency services were called to the scene after reports of a firearm being discharged about 4.50am. Mr Jacobs was taken to hospital but died as a result of his injuries.
His accused murderer was flanked in the dock on Monday by three custody officers during a brief hearing.
When the case was called, magistrate Franz Holzer said he extended his “sympathy and condolences” to the family and friends of the deceased man.
Nelis, who wore a longsleeved Puma shirt, did not speak and stared blankly in front of him for most of the hearing.
At one point, he briefly waved in the direction of three women who were present for the case.
Nelis’s lawyer, Adrian Paull, asked the court to note that his client had borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.
He said Nelis also had chronic anxiety and issues with iron in his blood, while revealing that the accused killer had received hospital treatment for chest pain following his arrest.
Nelis made no application for bail during the hearing and was remanded in custody for a committal mention on November 13.
The murder charge came after it was revealed Mr Jacobs – also known as “Legzy” – was wearing a bulletproof vest at the time of his death.
It is understood he was living in a caravan at the rear of a house on Chaffey Square when he was fatally wounded.
Following the alleged shooting, police and SES officers examined a one kilometre drain and scoured grassland in the hope it would lead them to Mr Jacobs’ killer.
Forensic samples were also taken from a dark Ford Falcon found parked on Goldsworthy Road.
Mr Jacobs was once a promising surfer and is understood to have completed a degree in computer programming at Deakin University.
Friend Georgia Finnigan told the Geelong Advertiser this month that Mr Jacobs was an intelligent man and that she was “so shocked” by his death. “I want everyone to know how loved he was, he was always so giving and caring,” she said.