‘Neglected’ mass shooter Ben Hoffmann in bid to overturn jailhouse assault conviction

Darwin mass shooter Ben Hoffmann says he’s ‘been badly treated at prison, even neglected’ and that ‘no one cares about me’ but the convicted murderer is ‘trying to keep it together’.

Four years after mercilessly slaughtering four innocent men in a bloodthirsty shotgun rampage through the streets of Darwin in 2019, Ben Hoffmann is still “not happy”.

He’s “been badly treated at the prison, even neglected” but the convicted murderer is “trying to keep it together” after being transferred back to Darwin from Alice Springs last week.

“They took me back to C (block), to a cell with no fan, with a flicking light, with no chair or no TV, I mean it’s got no power points so I sit there sweating away,” he told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

“No one’s doing anything for me, no one cares about me.”

To make matters worse, Hoffmann could now be forced to represent himself in court, despite being “a bit worried I might not even be smart enough”.

Hoffmann, who is serving a life sentence without parole after pleading guilty to three counts of murder and one count of manslaughter, has lodged an appeal of a separate conviction for a jailhouse assault in 2021.

Ben Hoffmann outside NT Police's Peter McAulay Centre during his murderous shotgun rampage in June 2019.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Tami Grealy told the court prison staff had twice tried to provide him with his appeal materials but he had “refused to sign for the documents”.

Ms Grealy said Hoffmann’s request for legal aid in his appeal had “only very recently” been refused on review and he now had one more opportunity for further review.

But Hoffmann said the NT Legal Aid Commission was refusing to speak with him or answer his letters, saying “that’s unfair, that’s discrimination”.

“They just basically write letters saying because you received a sentence of no parole with a different matter altogether, that basically we’re not going to represent you,” he said.

A shotgun wielding Ben Hoffmann mid-rampage.

“They don’t even bother answering my calls, your honour, and believe me I’ve tried very hard to speak to them and I get shut down at the receptionist.

“And I do not deserve it, I’m very polite, I am respectful, I don’t swear and carry on.”

In adjourning the case until March 8, Justice Meredith Huntingford told Hoffmann he would need to file submissions setting out the basis for his appeal and the evidence he wished to call.

“How do I do that — I’m not a magician — how do I do that?” he responded.

“It took me two weeks to get a pillow in Alice Springs, your honour, no one wants to do anything for me, who’s going to assist me to get the truth out there?”