David Stemler death: Shocking twist as pregnant woman is charged with shooting murder of neck-tattooed man in Canterbury, Sydney’s west

  • David Stemler was shot dead in Canterbury around 2am last July
  • A pregnant woman has now been charged with murder
  • The 23-year-old woman has been refused bail and is in custody
  • Do you know something? Send an email to candace.sutton@mailonline.com

A 23-year-old pregnant woman has been charged with shooting a man with a neck tattoo in a bloody gangland killing last year.

Rhylee Stig is behind bars and denied bail after she was arrested on Wednesday for the alleged murder of Ferenc ‘David’ Stemler in Sydney’s south-west last July.

Stemler, 28, was shot dead just after 2am after meeting two men outside his rental home on Broughton Street in Canterbury on July 27, 2023.

Following reports of a shooting, officers attached to Burwood Police Area Command found a man with gunshot wounds.

Stemler was treated at the scene by NSW Ambulance paramedics but died at the scene.

Local police, with assistance from the State Crime Command’s homicide unit, launched an investigation before the case was dealt with by Task Force Magnus under Strike Force Murrell.

Rhylee Stig, 23 (above) has been arrested for the alleged murder of heavily tattooed David Stemler, who was shot dead in a gangland-style attack at 2am last July

Police arrested the pregnant woman who was denied bail when she appeared in court and will remain behind bars until at least mid-April

Police arrested the pregnant woman who was denied bail when she appeared in court and will remain behind bars until at least mid-April

Task Force Magnus was established in July as a policing strategy to tackle and disrupt gun-related and violent crime, and to investigate links between recent organized criminal activity in Sydney.

Following extensive investigations, strike force detectives arrested Rhylee Stig in Wetherill Park at around 7am on Wednesday.

Stig was taken to Fairfield police station where she was charged with murder.

She was refused bail and she appeared at Fairfield Local Court on Wednesday, where she was formally refused bail to appear at Parramatta Local Court in April.

About 9.40am on Thursday, a 27-year-old man was taken from Parklea Correctional Center to Riverstone Police Station where he was arrested and is expected to be charged with murder.

Deputy Commissioner Michael Fitzgerald said the arrests were of major importance to the State Crime Command’s Task Force Magnus.

A pregnant 23-year-old woman has been charged over the execution murder of Ferenc 'David' Stemler (above) in Sydney's south-west last July

A pregnant 23-year-old woman has been charged over the execution murder of Ferenc ‘David’ Stemler (above) in Sydney’s south-west last July

Stemler was shot dead in Broughton Street, Canterbury (above) at 2am after encountering two men in what is believed to be part of a bloody gangland war

Stemler was shot dead in Broughton Street, Canterbury (above) at 2am after encountering two men in what is believed to be part of a bloody gangland war

“Further to this morning’s resolution, we can now say that an arrest has been made in every homicide investigated by Task Force Magnus,” said Deputy Commissioner Fitzgerald.

“While the work is never truly done, this is a tremendous achievement for our Command, which was given the difficult task of disrupting the brutal violence we saw unfold in our streets.

“Task Force Magnus has complemented their range of capabilities with both proactive and reactive teams, to not only target perpetrators, but also prevent more acts of violence on our streets.

“The safety of our wider community is – and always will be – our number one priority, and the people of NSW our motivation to come up with such a significant response; one that has clearly had remarkable success.”

The investigation, led by Strike Force Murrell, continues.