'I've never been so scared in my life': How Gino and Mark Stocco's murderous crime spree lasted eight years

Father and son duo, Gino and Mark Stocco, destroyed the lives of many of the families who welcomed them into their homes, during the time span of their murderous crime spree.

Gino, 58, and Mark, 35, traded work for board, gaining the trust of their employers, before they would eventually snap and leave.

The pair was arrested on a rural property in NSW in October 2015, but not before they terrified families across the east coast.

The pair would allegedly come back to homes they had visited, days, weeks or months later and burn them to the ground, destroy equipment and terrorise the families who lived in them.

Forensic Psychiatrist Paul Mullen told Sunday Night the duo’s return was about ‘vengeance’.

“They come back with a very clear intention to do the maximum damage that they can,” he said.

Doug Redding, of Cecil Plains in Queensland, employed the Stoccos for seven months before they turned on him after a disagreement.

He claimed the Stoccos allegedly caused $600,000 worth of damage to his work shed, setting fire to equipment and pouring sugar into fuel tanks.

He slammed the pair as ‘die hard cowards’.

“They come in the night, they burn people out, they thieve and not just once,” Mr Redding said.

Mr Redding printed out wanted signs and travelled up and down the east coast, warning neighbours not to fall for the same scheme.

Unfortunately the pair already had their next victims lined up.

Gino Stocco contacted Rick Zipsin of Glenburn in Melbourne, following the Black Saturday bushfires.

He offered to work for Mr Zipsin in exchange for a place to stay, he accepted and they moved into his guest flat.

Mr Zipsin told Sunday Night the pair then started to show up unannounced three to four times a year, wearing down their welcome.

He eventually asked to give the family some privacy.

Not long after Mr Zipsin woke up, he found a shed fire on his property with flames reaching 40m into the sky.

The Zipsin family was unable to save anything, and the Stoccos allegedly returned later on to set even more property ablaze amounting close to $900,000 in damage.

'Its devastating. I just don't understand how someone could burn someone's livelihood like that,' he said.

Ian and Shelley Durkin of Coolatai in northern NSW, were also targeted by the duo.

Mr Durkin claimed the pair were well presented when they arrived at his cattle farm asking for work.

He said Gino Stocco became obsessed with maintaining their front lawn and would rage when cows trampled on the grass.

After a disagreement over an electric fence, the pair fled once again, but they left behind a note slamming Mr Durkin as an ‘arrogant fool’.

Only days later he arrived home to find holes had been drilled in close to 100 tyres on the property and fences had been cut to free cattle.

Three guns were also stolen, which the family feared the Stoccos would one day return and use them.

The Durkin family let out a sigh of relief when the pair were arrested in October 2015.

Gino and Mark allegedly emerged from the property and surrendered without a battle.

Both men were charged with a handful of offences, such as murder, and are set to face court in August.