Convicted triple murderer Benjamin Hoffmann may be sentenced when his case returns to court in Darwin after multiple delays.

July 25, 2022

A gunman convicted of murdering three people and killing another during a shooting spree across Darwin is set to face a sentencing hearing after multiple delays.

Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann pleaded guilty mid-trial in November to intentionally killing Hassan Baydoun, 33, Michael Sisois, 57, and Rob Courtney, 52, and the manslaughter of 75-year-old Nigel Hellings, on June 4, 2019.

The 48-year-old is scheduled to return to the Northern Territory Supreme Court on Monday when sentencing submissions will continue with evidence from a forensic psychiatrist and pathologist.

Prosecutor Lloyd Babb SC and Hoffmann’s defence lawyer Patricia Petersen are also expected to make their final remarks to the court.

Justice John Burns could also sentence Hoffmann, however he may decide to consider the submissions and hand his judgement down on another day.

Hoffmann’s sentencing has been delayed numerous times for a variety of reasons since he admitted to the homicides, including the sacking of two legal teams.

The gunman also lost his Legal Aid funding and claimed his trial lawyers bullied him into confessing the crimes and said he wanted to change his guilty plea.

In May, Hoffmann also refused to leave his prison cell at the Darwin Correctional Centre to attend an earlier sentence hearing, as concerns were raised about his rapidly deteriorating mental health.

His lawyers have repeatedly expressed their concerns about Hoffmann’s ability to comprehend what is happening during the proceedings.

Hoffmann was high on methamphetamine when he shot the four men dead while hunting a man named Alex Deligiannis, who he believed had stolen his ex-girlfriend, Kelly Collins.

He shot Mr Baydoun four times with a double-barrel shotgun at the Palms Motel in central Darwin.

Mr Hellings was gunned down through the front door of his apartment block about 800m away.

Hoffmann’s next victim was his mate, Mr Sisois, who he shot in the head in the car park at the nearby Buff Club bar and restaurant.

Mr Courtney was murdered at an industrial yard at Darwin Recycling, about 2.5km away.

He was found with 69 injuries, including 36 stabbing and slicing wounds, multiple blunt force injuries and a gunshot wound.

Mr Deligiannis had previously visited three of the locations regularly.

Hoffmann and Ms Collins met in early 2019 in a drug rehab centre, where the pair made plans to move in together after they left the program

But two weeks before the shootings, Ms Collins sent Hoffmann a text message saying she was in love with Mr Deligiannis.