Vesna Boskovski did not know how deeply entangled her husband was in Sydney's criminal underworld until the doorbell rang at their family home late on a Monday night.
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She heard him call out "who is it?" before hearing what sounded like rapid fireworks and seeing a light coloured smoke near the front door.
Her bloodied husband staggered down the hallway to their lounge room and said "oh f---" before collapsing on the floor.
Vasko Boskovski, 35, had been shot in the head, thigh and chest.
His wife made a frantic call to triple-o and her parents-in-law.
"Vasko got shot and is not moving, he's down on the floor. Come pick up the kids," she said.
Paramedics took him to St George Hospital but he was pronounced dead in the early hours of July 30, 2013.
Leading up to his murder Mr Boskovski, a standover man who was closely linked with terrorists Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar, was pursuing a $3 million debt he believed to be owed by property development company Meriton.
Weeks before his death an associate of Mr Boskovski's, Doug Westerway, met with Meriton owner and Sydney billionaire Harry Triguboff, to discuss the supposed debt on July 8, 2013.
"Triguboff and others very bluntly informed him there was no debt and Westerway left," police documents tendered at the coronial inquest state.
At the time of Mr Boskovski's death, police say there was a rival group of violent criminals from Sydney's south-west who was also chasing the same debt.
But on Monday a coronial inquest heard that the debt never existed.
"We believe the murder was a direct result of this dispute over this $3 million debt that never existed," the officer in charge, Sergeant Santana Baskar said. "We believe this $3 million debt never existed," he said.
It can also be revealed that police believe two close associates of Mr Boskovski – Sydney construction identity George Alex and crime figure Bilal Fatrouni – have stifled the murder investigation.
"Fatrouni and Alex were extremely uncooperative with police," state documents contained in a police brief obtained by Fairfax Media.
"It is investigator's strong view that Fatrouni and Alex hold vital information in relation to this murder but are not willing to assist.
"[His] other close associates being Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar avoided police investigation and managed to slip out of the country to Syria where they ended up fighting with ISIS."
The inquest also heard how Mr Boskovski's murder had nothing to do with the murder of his former business partner and standover man Joe Antoun.
Antoun was killed in a similar manner at his home in Strathfield six months after Mr Boskovski was fatally shot.
The police brief outlines how Mr Boskovski started his debt collecting business, Elite Group Services, after working for many years as a photocopy repairman for Fuji Xerox.
It also uncovers how closely Mr Boskovski worked with George Alex and Khaled Sharrouf.
One woman who worked for Mr Boskovski told police of how she had attended a meeting organised by Mr Boskovski and Alex whereby she was introduced to Sharrouf.
She told police of how Sharrouf, who wore sunglasses for the entirety of the meeting, refused to shake her hand and barely acknowledged her existence.
Police believe Mr Boskovski was killed over a debt that sub-contractor Tony Di Carlo believed Meriton owed him.
In a statement to police Mr Di Carlo said he never authorised Alex or Mr Boskovski to collect his debts, including the Meriton debt.
On Monday deputy coroner Mary Jerram formally referred the unsolved case to the NSW Police Homicide Squad for ongoing investigation.
