Hoffmann trial: Jury sent home as defence set to call expert psychiatric evidence

ICYMI: Jurors in Ben Hoffmann’s murder trial will not sit again this week after his defence team made a last minute application to call expert psychiatric evidence.

UPDATE, 4.30PM: BEN Hoffmann told the company that monitored his ankle bracelet as part of his parole conditions his “drink had been spiked” and his “girlfriend’s life might even be in danger” on the morning of his alleged killing spree, a court has heard.

A recorded phone call between Hoffmann and G4S was played to jurors in his trial on Monday, in which he tells the call-taker he’s at Royal Darwin Hospital outside his curfew.

“I went for a drive to visit my friend before and I had a guy in the car,” he says on the recording.

“I think he spiked my drink. I’m feeling crook. I’m just at, up here now. I’m feeling really groggy so I’m gonna get checked out.”

In the call, Hoffmann expresses concern that his parole could be revoked due to his having left the house in the early hours of the morning.

“I called the police heaps, I couldn’t get your number, I don’t know where to get the after hours number, I’ve done everything I can, this shouldn’t affect parole yeah?” he says.

“I got the piss kicked out of me last time I was in, I got bashed to f***, you know what I mean?

“This is an emergency situation, I’m getting this checked out, I’m gonna head home, I know who done it and I’m not f***ing happy — my girlfriend’s life might even be in danger.”

UPDATE — MONDAY, OCTOBER 18: JURORS in Ben Hoffmann’s murder trial will not sit again this week after his defence team made a last minute application to call expert psychiatric evidence.

On Monday trial judge John Burns told the jury Hoffmann’s lawyers had served notice on the prosecution “that they propose to call expert testimony” from a psychiatrist.

Justice Burns said the psychiatrist had “only been retained very late” and would not be able to provide their expert report before Friday.

“The Crown, not unnaturally, wishes to see that report before it calls its own psychiatrists and to have an opportunity to discuss that report with the Crown’s psychiatrists,” he said.

“It’s extremely unfortunate but what that means is we’ll be unable to take any further evidence this week.”

Defence lawyers Peter Maley and Jon Tippett QC outside the Supreme Court. Picture: Julianne Osborne

Justice Burns said while he regretted the inconvenience the late notice would cause the jurors, he cautioned them not to “use the fact that this material has been late in coming as some evidence of the guilt of the accused”.

“This is not usual in the conduct of these trials but in a matter of this nature, it’s very important that all the evidence that may be relevant to the guilt or innocence of the accused is put before you,” he said.

“The late reception of this material is not something that you can take into account in determining the guilt or innocence of the accused, you must put that out of you mind, ultimately, when you come to consider the evidence.”

Hoffmann has pleaded not guilty to all charges including four counts of murder. His trial will now resume on October 27.

UPDATE, TUESDAY 2PM: THE first shot ripped through Hassan Baydoun’s right forearm, shattering the bones before a second shotgun blast tore into his upper arm from close range as he stood inside his caretaker’s residence at the Palms Motel in June 2019.

A third shot, this time fired from within about 10-15cm of Mr Baydoun’s chest, shredded his heart and other vital organs before he slumped back onto the ground, apparently having tried helplessly to defend himself against the onslaught with a frying pan.

His lifeless body was later found crumpled in the back of his unit’s shower cubicle, the frying pan between his legs, with a fourth gunshot wound to the skull ensuring he would never again move from his position on the tiles.

The man prosecutors allege fired all four shots, 47-year-old Ben Hoffmann, is standing trial for Mr Baydoun’s murder in the Supreme Court where on Tuesday, forensic pathologist Marianne Tiemensma told jurors either of the first two gunshot wounds could have been fatal.

Dr Tiemensma said the third almost certainly ended Mr Baydoun’s life and by the time the fourth shot was fired, the 33-year-old was most likely already dead.

“This (third) gunshot wound caused massive disruption of the chest organs, perforated the breast bone, the heart,” she said.

“Then there were multiple separate (pellet) tracks spreading through the organs.”

When the trigger was pulled for the fourth time, Dr Tiemensma said the resulting wound was “almost bloodless” due to the massive blood loss Mr Baydoun had already suffered, even from just the first and second shots.

“If they were left untreated, they could have been fatal on their own because it caused extensive destruction of the bones and the blood vessels of the right upper arm but it wouldn’t have been immediately fatal,” she said.

“You’d still be able to react and survive for some time and maybe make it to a hospital if there’s compression to that area and the blood loss is contained.

“(But) if you look at the wound on the chest, that one is going to incapacitate you immediately — you’ve got disruption of all the vital organs in your chest, you’re going to have seizure of blood flow to all the vital organs in the body.”

Hoffmann also stands charged with the murder of three other men and Dr Tiemensma also performed the autopsy on his last alleged victim, 52-year-old Rob Courtney, who she said suffered a total of “at least 69” separate injuries.

She said while Mr Courtney was also shot with a shotgun, about 36 of his wounds were inflicted by a knife in a seemingly violent and frenzied attack at the Jolly St recycling centre where he lived.

Dr Tiemensma said the stab wounds were between 2.4cm and 12.5cm deep, including some which included contact with the knife’s hilt.

“That means the knife was thrust in deep enough for the hilt to make contact with the adjacent skin,” she said.

While it was a cut that completely severed his carotid artery and jugular vein that would have quickly ended Mr Courtney’s life, Dr Tiemensma said it came only after what appeared to have been a protracted struggle with his attacker.

“The other wounds were bleeding so there was still active circulation,” she said.

“You could see there was a large amount of blood smears around the body in the scene so you got the impression that there were multiple areas where the struggle happened and multiple other injuries.

“You got the impression there was a lot of movement involved in the struggle.”

Hoffmann has pleaded not guilty to all charges and his trial has been adjourned until Monday when the next set of witnesses is expected to be available to testify.

UPDATE, TUESDAY 2PM: BLOOD stains found at the scenes of Ben Hoffmann’s alleged 2019 killing spree were “at least 100 billion times more likely” to be the DNA of the alleged quadruple murderer than anyone else, a court has heard.

On Tuesday, NT Police forensic science branch director Joannah Lee told jurors in Hoffmann’s trial a “transfer stain” was found at the Jolly St recycling yard where Rob Courtney was killed.

“A transfer stain is a stain that results from a wet, bloody surface contacting on another surface and what’s interesting about transfer stains is that they can also be indicative of the size and shape of the source,” she said.

The shotgun found in the HiLux Ben Hoffmann was driving during the alleged killing spree.

“In this particular image, we do have a stain that does have a striking resemblance to a head, shoulder, arm and torso of an individual so, in my opinion, the likely source of that stain is exactly that.”

Dr Lee said an analysis of the blood stain showed a “mixed DNA profile” with “major and minor components”.

“The major components matched the components attributed to Robert Courtney and the minor components matched the components attributed to Benjamin Hoffmann,” she said.

Hoffmann has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including Mr Courtney’s murder and that of three other men on June 4, 2019.

His trial continues.

MONDAY: A FORENSIC examination of a Red Bull can conducted in the wake of Ben Hoffmann’s alleged 2019 killing spree showed no evidence the drink had been “poisoned”, a court has heard.

On Monday, Nicholas Makrylos — whose brother Michael last week admitted to allowing Hoffmann to borrow his ute with shotgun ammunition and a hunting knife in the back seat — told jurors in Hoffmann’s trial he twice saw the alleged gunman on the day of the killings.

Mr Makrylos said he first encountered Hoffmann in the early hours of the morning when he was woken by him banging on his front door “telling me that he’d been poisoned by Michael Sisois”.

“I said he was mad and I said look, if he’d been poisoned it would have come up at the hospital,” he said.

“I said ‘Look mate it’s like four, five in the morning, I’ve got no time for this shit, please leave’.”

Mr Makrylos said he next saw Hoffmann that afternoon when he came to the shed where he and his brother worked, asking to use the phone.

“I told him he wasn’t allowed to use the phone and asked him to leave,” he said.

“He went to grab the handle of the door, I’ve pushed his hand away from the door and then had to compose myself in a way to show him that I’m serious and asked him to leave.”

Michael 'Pelican' MAKRYLOS with wife Christina MAKRYLOS leave the NT Supreme Court after giving evidence in the trial of alleged Darwin shooter Benjamin Hoffmann. Picture: Glenn Campbell

Also on Monday, NT Police forensic scientist Narelle Moss told the court she analysed a sample from inside the Red Bull can which came up empty, while tests of other items including ice pipes and syringes were positive for methamphetamine.

In cross examination, Hoffmann’s barrister Peter Maley questioned Ms Moss as to whether the tests performed would have picked up things other than illicit drugs.

“If there was another compound in the substance, even if it was outside the scope of what would normally be considered a scheduled substance, the test you did would have picked that up?” he asked.

“Most likely, yes,” Ms Moss replied.

Mr Maley also asked Ms Moss if the test would “pick up what are generally described as poisons”?

“It would depend on the compound of the poison but yes, most likely,” she said.

Hoffmann has pleaded not guilty to all charges, including four counts of murder. His trial continues.

Originally published as Hoffmann trial: Jury sent home as defence set to call expert psychiatric evidence