Abdurhman Jemal death: Father and son Luke and Brodi Picking face court for roles in family man’s killing
A teenage killer who was present when a beloved family man was shot later emerged to console his victim’s wife and deny involvement, a court has heard.
Abdurhman Jemal, 33, was shot dead outside a shopping street in the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy at around 4.30am on March 29, 2024.
His killers, father-son duo Luke James Picking, 42, and Brodi Picking, 20, returned to the Supreme Court of Victoria on Monday for a pre-sentence hearing.
Following a trial late last year, Luke Picking was found guilty of Mr Jemal’s murder, while Brodi Picking was acquitted of murder but found guilty of manslaughter.
The court was told that two weeks before the fatal shooting, Brodi Picking, who had just turned 18, claimed Mr Jamal had stolen his wallet at a mutual friend’s house.
The two men clashed during a chance meeting at Bunnings Warehouse at around 8.40pm on March 28 before going their separate ways.
Six hours later, Luke Picking was caught on security cameras meeting his son and removing a loaded shotgun from the hood of his car.
An hour later at 3.30am, Crown Prosecutor Patrick Bourke KC said the pair went “looking for Jemal” and found him outside their Justin Ave store.
“You wanna be a sick idiot, hey,” Luke Picking shouted from the car before Mr. Jamal was shot in the neck and died.
At the hearing, Luke Picking claimed that he never intended to kill anyone, and Brodi Picking claimed that he did not know the firearm was loaded.
Brodi Picking’s lawyer, Rishi Nathwani KC, told the court that, consistent with the jury’s verdict, his client had made a “deal with a loaded firearm” to intimidate Mr Jamal.
However, he said the evidence was clear that Luke Picking was already walking around with a gun for unrelated reasons and had no knowledge of the Bunnings row until he met up with his son.
“If his father hadn’t brought a gun… Scaring him with a loaded gun would never have been planned,” he said.
Mr Nathwani urged the court to take into account his client’s disadvantaged history in sentencing.
Mr Bourke said it was significant that hours had passed between the Bunnings confrontation and the shooting of Mr Jamal, adding that “it cannot be said that it was an impulsive decision”.
He also told the court that a week after the death, Brodi Picking turned up at the home of Mr Jamal’s widow and denied involvement.
In victim impact statements read to the court, Mr Jamal was remembered by family members as loving, protective and deeply devoted to his family.
His sister told the court that Jamal was known in their community for his “kindness and willingness to help those in need” as a mentor.
“His biggest dream was to work hard, support our parents and reunite our family here in Australia,” he said.
His brother told the court the death had a significant impact on their family.
“He was hopeful about the future, he had hope for a better future, he had plans and dreams…those were taken away from him because of selfish actions beyond his control,” Mr. Jamal’s brother said.
“I feel the weight of his absence every day.”
Luke Picking, who told the court he now wanted to represent himself and planned to appeal the decision, was unprepared for the plea hearing and will return to court in early September.
