Man convicted of girlfriend’s attempted murder says he’s being targeted inside Risdon Prison

A man convicted of attempting to murder his girlfriend says he’s being targeted inside Risdon Prison, with a guard locking him up in solitary for three months and promising to make his “life hell”.

Matthew John Davey, convicted of attempted murder, is appealing his conviction and 18-year jail term.

A man convicted of attempting to murder his girlfriend by setting her on fire says he’s being targeted inside Risdon Prison, with a guard locking him up in solitary confinement for three months.

Matthew John Davey, 42, is appealing against both his attempted murder conviction and his 18-year prison term.

During the first part of his appeal, which was held before the Court of Criminal Appeal last year, Davey was represented by lawyer Fabiano Cangelosi – who argued there were discrepancies between Davey’s and his victim’s accounts of how the fire ignited.

“There is a reasonable possibility that the applicant is an innocent person who has been convicted,” he said.

The second part of the appeal has been staged by Davey himself, representing himself from the docks.

On Thursday, he told the trio of judges that he was “no attorney” and was doing the work himself with no background in the law.

“I have spent many hours preparing after reading back on transcripts and reading back on my law books,” he said.

Chief Justice Alan Blow, Justice Tamara Jago and Acting Justice Brian Martin explained to Davey that he had a fresh opportunity to “say anything that you wish to say”.

This was due to the fact the court had been reconstituted, with the now retired Acting Justice Shane Marshall replaced on the appeal bench by Acting Justice Martin.

Davey launched into a number of matters, including what he said was the fallout of a hearing in April last year – in which he asked for shackles to be removed from his ankles in court, arguing “I am no dangerous criminal that needs to be chained up”.

He said when he returned to Risdon Prison after this hearing, a guard placed him in solitary confinement for three months for “overriding his authority”.

Davey said the man had threatened to “make my life hell”, and that he’d filed a lawsuit against both the officer and the prison for the “hardship” he’d been forced to endure.

He made a number of arguments in his appeal, including that some of the evidence adduced by the state at the last sittings “should be completely ignored” – claiming it was new and that he’d not been informed about it prior by counsel for the state, Linda Mason SC.

He said this included evidence from a witness and prison phone recordings.

“It’s unfair that Ms Mason has the right to surprise attack me, and spring all this new evidence on me,” he said

“I knew nothing of the new evidence.”

After referring the judges to a number of High Court cases, Davey said there was “no evidence” to convict him of attempted murder.

“The elements that are a must for attempted murder simply did not exist,” he said.

“There are not enough factual inferences that can be put together to prove that I had an intent to kill.”

He also said the jury’s finding of guilt had simply arisen “from all the significant prejudice” in his case.

Davey’s victim, then 20, suffered life-threatening injuries with burns to 68 per cent of her body, and placed in an induced coma, after she was doused in petrol and set alight at Chigwell in April 2017.

Davey was found guilty by a jury in December 2021, and given an 18-year jail sentence, with a non-parole period of 12 years.

The Court of Criminal Appeal will deliver its decision at a date to be determined.

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