Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann, 46, is charged with four counts of murder and several other serious offences in relation to a series of shootings in the inner suburbs of Darwin in June 2019.
Four men — 31-year-old Hassan Baydoun, 75-year-old Nigel Hellings, 57-year-old Michael Sisois, and 52-year-old Robert Courtney — were killed, and one woman was injured.Today, Chief Justice Michael Grant told the court Mr Hoffmann's defence team had previously indicated he was exploring the possibility of pleading not guilty by reason of mental impairment.
"Things are a little difficult because of the COVID situation at the prison: getting access to the client, psychiatrists having to use AVL — and only at certain times — and those sorts of difficulties," she said. He said he needed to fix trial dates for next year as soon as possible because the Supreme Court's calendar was rapidly filling up.
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