A Sydney father-of-four who was shot in the back of the head and dumped in bushland may have been killed by organised crime figures whom he had become involved with, police say.
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Homicide detectives said John Gasovski was shot once in an "execution style" killing and his fully-clothed body was dumped in Illawarra bushland.
A park ranger found his body off Jamberoo Mountain Road early on Sunday morning but police have yet to recover the murder weapon.
They are also trying to find the car Mr Gasovski had taken from his Park Street home at Arncliffe in Sydney's south.
Detective Inspector Grant Taylor said Mr Gasovski last spoke to his wife about 3.30pm on June 9 and said he was travelling to Canberra to do some type of installation work.
"We assume he may not have gone to Canberra and he may have been staying around the Lake Illawarra area," Inspector Taylor said.
He said police believed the former James Cook Boys High School student had become involved with organised crime figures who had links to drugs.
"We are exploring all of his activities in the last number of years to see when he did become involved in the criminal milieu," he said.
"He involved himself in some way with criminal identities and we are trying to identify who those individual are."
Inspector Taylor said he did not think Mr Gasovski's body had been lying in the bush for very long before it was discovered, but he was waiting for forensic results for a more conclusive time.
"Police don’t believe he died a week ago," he said. "It looks like his death was closer to the time he was found rather than the time he went missing.
"He was fully dressed and there was no attempt to conceal his body."
Detectives from the homicide squad, St George, and Lake Illawarra are working to solve Mr Gasovski's death under Strike Force Berek.
On Monday members of the Macedonian community packed into Mr Gasovski's home at Arncliffe to comfort his wife Jackie and their four children.
Mr Gasovski's daughter Rachel was one of many who expressed their grief online.
"Rip Dad love you," she wrote on Facebook.
A woman who identified herself as Mr Gasovski's niece also paid tribute to him.
"RIP uncle John Gasovski may you rest in peace always in our hearts. My heart is breaking for the family Xx," she wrote.
Police are keen to speak to anyone who might have seen Mr Gasovski in the Lake IIlawarra area on or after Monday, June 9.
Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000
