Kim Kellett has been sentenced for manslaughter after fatally shooting a man who broke into his home

There were cries of support in court for a Territory man who was sentenced after he shot a home intruder to death. Here’s how the killing near Cutta Cutta Caves happened.

A Katherine man who fatally shot a home intruder earlier this year has been sentenced.

Kim Jamie Keith Kellett, 39, will remain behind bars until at least January of 2024, after pleading guilty to a downgraded charge of manslaughter when he faced Darwin Supreme Court.

Family and friends crowed into the courtroom, shouting their support as Kellett arrived.

He was sentenced to four years and 10 months in jail and this was backdated to March 17.

The sentence will be suspended from January 17, 2024.

Kellett was living in a ranger’s cabin with his wife and young son near the Cutta Cutta Caves Nature Park, about 30km south of Katherine, when the killing happened.

On March 16, a 26-year-old man approached the house and let himself inside.

Kellett’s wife Danielle went into the kitchen to make a bottle for their two-year-old daughter.

It was then she spotted the intruder, who was wearing boxer shorts and was covered in grass.

Her screams woke Kellett.

Katherine man Kim Kellett will be behind bars until January, 2024. Picture: Facebook

The court heard Kellett rushed into the kitchen, telling the man to “f*** off”, before chasing him out of the house and locking the door.

At 4.08am, Ms Kellett rang triple-0.

She said she was sitting with a gun, telling the operator: “Hurry up mate because he’s gonna get shot. Mate, my kids are here.”

After hearing noises outside, Kellett took the .308 bolt-action rifle from his wife and ventured outside.

He walked three metres to the corner of the concrete at his front entrance, shouldered the rifle and shot down the driveway.

A bullet went into the victim.

At 4.36am, a police officer arrived on the scene to find the dead man lying on his back.

As Kellett approached the officer he was heard to say: “Oh, s*** - I only just fired a warning shot”.

Justice John Burns called the shooting “highly reckless”.

Justice Burns said the presence of an intruder would understandably cause “a very real fear”.

“We cannot know why the deceased entered your home, dressed as he was, in the middle of the night,” Justice Burns said.

“You did not know the deceased, you did not know anything about his background, all you knew was he was a person who entered your home in a partially undressed state.

“The conduct of the deceased was clearly of the nature that would cause a very real fear in your mind both as a resident of the dwelling and as a parent.

“Your act of raising the rifle to your shoulder and firing in circumstances where you thought the noise may have been made by the deceased was nevertheless highly reckless.”

Justice Burns called the incident “out of character” for Kellett, stating the Crown accepted he “did not intend to cause serious harm” to the intruder.

“The present offence is out of character for you,” he said.

“I am satisfied that you are basically a decent man who made a very poor decision in difficult circumstances on the night in question.

“The Crown accepts that you did not intend to cause the death of or serious harm to the deceased.”

Originally published as Kim Kellett has been sentenced for manslaughter after fatally shooting a man who broke into his home