Kaspar Hansman sentenced to 10 years in prison over Howard Springs, Muirhead stabbing rampages

Bloody, naked and screaming for his life, a Territory man burst from a bathroom as his girlfriend’s ex-lover kicked open the door. But this was just the start of a 12-month ‘horror movie’ rampage.

Kaspar Hansman appeared in the Supreme Court in Darwin and was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with a six-year non-parole period, for offending the court was told ‘read like a horror movie’. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

A blood-splattered bathroom and a bleach-doused garden were the gruesome settings of a real-life “horror movie” during a Darwin man’s 12-month drug-fuelled psychotic rampage.

Kaspar Hansman appeared in the Supreme Court in Darwin on Tuesday in what could be his last taste of life outside of a cell for the next decade.

Justice Jenny Blokland sentenced the 30-year-old Estonian man to 10 years in prison, with a six year non-parole period, for offending she said “read like a horror movie”.

Justice Blokland described how Hansman hunted down the naked boyfriend of his former lover in a “drug-fuelled revenge motivated attack” — the first of two bloody stabbings in 2021.

NT Police released an image of Kaspar Hansman after a double stabbing in Muirhead. Picture: NTPFES

In early 2021 Giovanna Balzaretti ended her month-and-a-half relationship with Hansman before her de facto partner Benjamin Kellett was released from prison.

The reunited lovers had less than 24 hours together before Hansman barged into their Howard Springs home silently brandishing a curved serrated knife above his head at 3am.

Mr Kellett was naked as he barricaded himself in the bathroom as Hansman continued to slash through the gap in the door.

Ms Balzaretti hit Hansman with a baseball bat, only to have him turn and lunge at her.

Her screams woke her neighbour, Nicole Siebert, who ran in to help only to also be attacked.

Justice Jenny Blokland sentenced the 30-year-old Estonian man to 10 years in prison.

Five days later Hansman returned armed with a Bolt action rifle, telling the two women: “If you talk to the police, I will kill you. You’ve got family members and I’ll kill them too.”

Justice Blokland said the attack was a “worst nightmare situation”, with another stabbing attack only eight months later.

On December 12 Hansman turned on his Muirhead neighbours Alongkorn Khanthongcam and Jakkree Canachai in an unprovoked attack as they left their home.

Hansman plunged the knife into Mr Khanthongcam’s back, stomped on him and stabbed him three more times as he crawled away, before slashing Mr Canachai’s groin.

Before police arrived Hansman used a bottle of bleach and a hose to spray down the trail of blood from his apartment.

Hansman fled and was arrested at Alawa the next day.

A raid of his home uncovered a “clandestine drug laboratory” alongside $1790 in cash, MDMA, testosterone cypionate and cutting agents.

The court heard that at the time Hansman was using five points of methamphetamines a day, taking MDMA and cocaine on the weekends.

Hansman pleaded guilty to causing serious harm, endangering serious harm, attempting to pervert the course of justice, dangerous driving, damage to property, unlawful entry, possessing drugs and manufacturing equipment.

Justice Blokland said in a letter to the court the 30-year-old said he did “not think he was capable of such conduct”.

She said she was sceptical that his decade-long sentence would “provide much in the way of rehabilitation”, due to the high-security prisoner’s limited access to education and training.

Originally published as Kaspar Hansman sentenced to 10 years in prison over Howard Springs, Muirhead stabbing rampages