Melbourne rapper Chris Habiyakare was shot dead at his Sunshine North, Melbourne home in August this year after intruders stormed the property.
This week, police launched an investigation to uncover whether an altercation that took place at the same house days before Habiyakare’s death, was actually performed as a smokescreen for the imminent murder.
Police believe that during the first attack – that took place on August 21st, 2021 – a group of people went over to Habiyakare and confronted him, but no one was harmed.
Days later, Chris Habiyakare, who performed under the name Lyr1cure7, was at his Melbourne home with two male and three female friends. At around 8:30 pm, Habiyakare allegedly heard a knock at the front door and opened it to a group of males.
The group forced their way inside the house allegedly armed with a range of weapons, including a firearm, police said. Habiyakare friend’s escaped unharmed, but he was shot and died at the scene.
Last week, the police appealed for more information about whether the initial confrontation was linked to the murder.
“Since then, police have received information and interviewed a number of people involved in the incident on the 21 August … Detectives have now ruled out any links between that matter and Chris’s death,” Victoria Police said.
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“Investigators are now exploring whether the offending group was aware of this altercation and potentially used it as a reason to target Chris and avoid detection.”
Despite the link not matching up, police believe that they are narrowing “in on who is involved” in the murder of the 24-year-old rapper.
“Based on the information we’ve received, it’s becoming increasingly likely that the actual group responsible for Chris’s death was aware of the previous now unrelated altercation and has tried to take advantage of it,” said Detective Inspector Tim Day.
“We believe they have most likely attempted to use it as a cover to throw off any suspicious on them in terms of what has happened to Chris.”
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