Farrugia and Marshall have been charged over a separate arson and graffiti attack in Woollahra in December, in which a car was set alight and “kill Israiel” [sic] was sprayed on a wall. She had allegedly posted “got any jerry cans?” on Facebook in the days before the attack.
Leon Sofilas was arrested over links to the Dover Heights antisemitic attack.Credit: AAP
They have also been named in a search warrant for a caravan carrying decades-old explosives, which was found in the outer suburb of Dural a month ago and contained a note naming two key Sydney Jewish sites, including the Great Synagogue.
Again, Farrugia is accused of flagging her plans on social media, allegedly posting, ‘Looking for a caravan for sale hit me up if U have one cheers’.
There have been no charges in relation to the explosives, and authorities are investigating whether it was a set-up by criminals who were hoping to use their knowledge of it as leverage for a reduced sentence.
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The only hint that Marshall and Farrugia might have links to Sofilas and Moule is on social media, where an account criticising Sofilas’ family, and purporting to show Sofilas and his girlfriend being attacked, was liked by Farrugia.
In some circles, the Sofilas family are well known. Leon’s brother, Michael, is a prominent Sydney rapper known as NTER. He has not seen his brother for three years because of the impact he says Leon’s behaviour has on his family.
The brothers had a difficult upbringing; their mother passed away from an overdose when they were young, and Michael’s song lyrics described a childhood of poverty, in which they were often hungry and surrounded by drugs.
“I don’t know why he [allegedly] done what he done,” Michael told the Herald.
Leon Sofilas’ cellmates had been calling him Nazi, his lawyer told a court this month, but Michael dismissed any ultra-right leanings. The family had Aboriginal members. “I know Leon, he is not a Nazi. He’s not a white supremacist,” Michael said.
Michael and Leon Sofilas.
“He wouldn’t have the f—ing brains to put an operation like that in place.”
The courts have heard Leon is accused of spraying 10 red swastikas on Newtown Synagogue before he and Moule allegedly attempted to light a fire. Michael rang the synagogue to apologise on behalf of the family for the graffiti.
A man at the synagogue, Michael said, was gracious and hoped Leon would find peace.
Sofilas’ neighbour, Moule, recently finished a jail term for negligent driving. In 2021, he had been driving a delivery truck when he ignored a sign limiting big vehicles from entering a road on the northern beaches and failed to watch out for other vehicles as he turned right.
‘I know Leon, he is not a Nazi. He’s not a white supremacist … He wouldn’t have the f—ing brains to put an operation like that in place.’
Leon Sofilas’ brother, Michael
A father of four riding a motorcycle tried to brake but flew under the truck.
Moule’s lawyer told a court this month that he was highly medicated for PTSD, depression and anxiety, and his position in the public housing flats was tenuous. “If he is not granted bail he will lose housing and once again become homeless,” she said.
A magistrate also spoke of Moule’s criminal record, which included a history of violence and a breach of AVOs and court orders resulting in warrants. His neighbour Leon Sofilas’ criminal history runs to 50 pages.
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Marshall and Farrugia also had complex lives. Both had lost partners in the past few years, and friends said Farrugia had been kicked out of her family home. “She was a really good mother before she went off the rails,” one person said.
Her alleged actions have puzzled friends. “Back when I knew her she was never racist,” one friend told the Herald on Monday. “For her to do this is strange.”
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