Property dispute involving granny flat at the heart of Oberon shooting murder

"You won't rob anyone else after me."

They were among the last words heard by a man shot dead at close range in Oberon two years ago following a property dispute over a granny flat.

Damien Conlon, 38, was lured to his death by his father-in-law, Luke Samouel Simon, in Oberon on February 9, 2023. Simon claimed Mr Conlon was a conman trying to steal his home.

Simon, who pleaded guilty to murder in August 2024, will be sentenced for the murder on February 24, 2025.

In an admission to police on the day of the murder, Simon, 57, said he shot Mr Conlon up to 10 times, including once behind his right ear.

In a sentencing hearing before Justice McNaughton in the Supreme Court of NSW on Thursday, November 7, 2024, the court heard a property dispute between the pair was the reason behind the killing.

Here's a look at what happened in the weeks, days and hours before Mr Conlon's death.

John Simon, Luke Simon's father, owned a home in Oberon. Before his death, in October 2021, he transferred ownership to Luke Simon, the offender.

In 2021, there was talk of transferring ownership of the property, so his daughter could live in the main house and a separate granny flat would be built for Luke Simon to live in.

Solicitors were engaged to prepare an agreement known as "the granny flat agreement" in which it was agreed a granny flat would be constructed on the property within 18 months.

A further clause gave Luke Simon the right to reside in the granny flat without payment of fee or rental.

The property was transferred on January 20, 2022, but construction of the granny flat was delayed due to planning issues until December 5, 2022.

The development application was granted in December 2022, but there were disputes regarding delays with the granny flat.

On January 20, 2023, Luke Simon received an eviction notice asking him to be out by February 6, 2023 so construction (of a granny flat) and renovation (of the main home) could take place.

If he failed to leave, Simon was told he would be in breach of relevant legislation and be trespassing.

He was asked to remove all belongings and told anything he left behind would be disposed of.

According to police documents, following the eviction notice, the relationship between Luke Simon and the other parties, including Damien Conlon, began to sour rapidly.

On January 31, 2023, there was a conversation between the parties where Simon asked to be paid out.

He requested $250,000 plus another $20,000 which he had paid towards a driveway that was to be constructed to the granny flat.

No agreement was reached.

Another issue was $2500 in overdue rates, owed to the council on the property.

On February 7, 2023, CCTV in the laundry of the home recorded Simon opening up a gun safe and removing his pistol, saying "that's the one that's going to put Damien to sleep" as well as "f--king Damien, you're f--king gone".

The following day, on February 8, 2023, an IGA worker had a conversation with Simon at the deli.

They asked how he was going, and Simon replied: "Great, until I found out someone was stealing from me or ripping me off."

When the staff member said "that's not good", Simon replied: "I'll get them, or I'll fix them."

In the early hours of February 9, 2023, Simon made a call to his daughter to say an urgent situation had arisen at the home: that items stored out the back, belonging to Damien Conlon, had been stolen.

Mr Conlon overheard the conversation and decided to drive out and check on the situation.

At 7am, Mr Conlon left his home in Bathurst, arriving at the property at 7.48am.

CCTV installed at the property recorded both audio and video from different angles of what happened next.

When Mr Conlon arrived at the property, he was met at the front door by Luke Simon. Simon invited him in and Mr Conlon entered the home through the front door.

At 7.49am, yelling was recorded. At 7.56am, Mr Conlon was recorded lying on the ground at the front of the property.

Simon approached him, said "bye-bye Damien" and proceeded to shoot him behind his right ear at close range.

At 7.58am, Simon called triple-0, identified himself and told the operator: "I am unarmed. I have just killed my son-in-law, my daughter's boyfriend, you might say."

He continued to provide information, saying he had shot the victim "about 10 times", including "one behind the ear, to finish him".

He said to the operator he would "go out the front now".

"I'm gunna sit down out the front and wait for police," he said.

"I will have my hands up when they turn up."

Simon also messaged a friend, telling them he had killed Mr Conlon.

A neighbour, on their way to work, wound down his window and had a conversation with Simon while he was out the front.

Simon said to him: "I've just killed Damien. I put two in his body and one in his head. I've called the police and they know I'm unarmed.

"Don't worry, mate, you're in no danger, I have no intent to harm anyone else."

The neighbour said he would wait with Simon, and Simon said: "Sixty years of hard work by my old man, and they just wanted to take it."

The neighbour asked what happened.

"I lured him here and when I opened the door, I said 'get on your knees and confess'. He confessed and I shot him," Simon said.

Police arrived and called Simon on his mobile phone. The following exchange took place between police at the scene and Simon.

Simon was told he was "under arrest for the suspected murder of a man down there".

He was told he was not obliged to say or do anything, but anything he did say or do would be recorded.

Simon said he understood.

When asked about the firearm, Simon said it was inside on the kitchen bench. He told police there could be a round in the chamber, adding "you will have to clear it, so be very careful".

Simon then said to the police: "This happens when you con people, when you try to take people's houses off them, so let this be a warning to every conman out there."

He told police he was on "heaps of medicine" and just had heart surgery and he was asked to sit down.

Simon said police "didn't have to check him", adding "he was fine", but went on to say: "Oh, don't worry, I clipped him behind the ear, he's dead. I'm ex-army, so I know where to place them."

Simon continued to speak with the officers.

"When my father died, he bought me this house," he said.

"I said to my daughter, to make things easier on you, why don't you build me a granny flat and move into the house?

"Now they want me to move out and they won't build me the granny flat.

"They wanna take possession," he said, adding he would be a Gold Card veteran, homeless.

"So if you wanna know why, let this be a warning to every con artist out there, you don't f--k around with people like that," he said.

"This is 60 years of my father's hard work and I won't see it pissed up against the f--kin wall."

The deceased was located in the front yard.

Back at Bathurst Police Station, Simon made further admissions, telling police he watched Mr Conlon arrive at the property prior to him going to the front door.

Prior to Mr Conlon arriving at the front door, Simon had removed his semi-automatic pistol from the gun safe, loaded it and placed it in the rear waistband of his pants.

He provided police with a version of where Mr Conlon entered the lounge room and how the two men had argued about property issues.

As the argument worsened, he said Mr Conlon gave him a "wry smile" and because of this he produced the pistol from his pants and said words to the effect of: "Your days of robbing people are over; you have robbed your last person."

Mr Conlon turned over a coffee table towards Simon and he discharged the firearm at the victim several times. Mr Conlon ran from the house and collapsed in the front yard.

Simon admitted the story about Mr Conlon's items being stolen was a ruse to get him to come out to confront him.

"When I affronted [sic] him this morning, I said to him, I said 'look, you f--ker, I said I know you're trying to, tryin to do me over'.

"I said I know a con when I see one. I'm not f--kin stupid. And he smiled. And I said what the f--k.

"And, um, then I pulled out the firearm and I pointed it at him and I said 'say your prayers motherf--ker because you're about to die. You won't rob anyone else after me'."

Simon told police Mr Conlon picked up the coffee table.

"I did what I was trained to do. I dropped and I fired," Simon said.

"Bang, bang, bang. See you later, yep.

"And I was intending on killing him, yes.

"I will admit to you right now I took that f--ker out before he goes and does it to some 90-year-old lady.

"I've committed murder, I admit that right, but I will say this: he won't rob an old lady, he won't rob anyone else.

"I put a number in the body and one in the head.

"I shot him because I know the bastard was conning me.

"I wanted to ask him a few questions and see what he did.

"That was the whole idea of getting him out there, was to ask him a few questions and try and get some straight answers out of him.

"It was that smile ... when he smiled like that, I thought, you f--ker. You know you would have no qualms knocking over and killing a 90-year-old on her way home with her life savings. That's the type of prick ...

"It was when he smiled at me and I drew that firearm that he went to his knees."

In custody, Simon also made the following statement to police.

"I still got it ... I hit got [sic] behind the ear. He wouldn't have felt much.

"That's what happens when you try and rob the infirm. He tried to hit me with a coffee table, flipped it right at me, and I put one in him.

"I've still got it, got him right behind the ear, dropped him like a sack of shit and I intended to do it."

Simon will be sentenced on February 24, 2025.