Mass murderer Ben Hoffmann convicted of prison coffee assault

Convicted Darwin mass murderer Ben Hoffmann has been convicted of assaulting a fellow inmate with a coffee cup. Watch the CCTV footage of the incident.

Notorious Darwin murderer Ben Hoffmann has had months added to his life sentence after assaulting a fellow inmate with a hot cup of coffee.

The convicted murderer who gunned down four people in a rampage around Darwin in 2019 was caught on CCTV splashing coffee on Jason Doyle in November 2021.

Hoffmann previously alleged he had felt threatened by Mr Doyle the day before when the other inmate allegedly “called (him) a f***head”.

In response Hoffmann approached Mr Doyle the following day and after forming a fist and feigning a punch, swiped the coffee into the inmate’s face and upper body.

Judge Ray Murphy said it was “blatantly clear” Hoffmann intended to harm Mr Doyle and convicted him on an aggravated assault charge.

Hoffmann is seen looking back towards the common area, where the prison guards were, before hitting the cup at Mr Doyle who he had been standing over for some time at that stage.

During questioning Mr Doyle had conceded while the coffee was not boiling the sensation of having the drink thrown over him was “extremely hot”.

The decision came after the Darwin Local Court was read the accounts of 10 witnesses including Hoffmann, who Judge Murphy called “uncooperative” and “evasive”, as well as CCTV footage of the incident.

“The defendant has feigned a punch at Mr Doyle, which is sufficient to make out the charge of assault,” he said.

“The assault goes beyond the feigned punch and to the point where the defendant has swat a coffee cup causing the contents to spray out into the face and torso of Mr Doyle.”

“It is clear, it is blatantly clear, blind Freddy can see, that the defendant’s conduct was deliberate, it was intentional, he pauses immediately before swatting the coffee cup.

“He looks back down to the common area of the facility before swiping. His intention was clear, this was an assault.”

Hoffmann will serve a jail sentence of three months concurrently with his three life sentences after already being convicted of three murders and a manslaughter.