A man has been sentenced to almost nine years in prison over the stabbing death of a 25-year-old in a botched robbery in southern New South Wales.
Simon Carberry, 23, was acquitted of murder but found guilty of the manslaughter of Sayed Mousawi by a jury in Wagga Wagga in March.
In handing down a sentence in the Supreme Court in Griffith today, Justice Peter Hamill said on the night of his death Mr Mousawi was lured to an address in Griffith by Carberry and two associates, Tearna O'Hanlon and Jye Honeysett, who planned to steal his car.
The trio hatched the plan after Mr Mousawi sent O'Hanlon, who was Carberry's girlfriend, a sexual proposition over text message.
Justice Peter Hamill said the robbery was ill-conceived and not "thought through to a significant degree".
O'Hanlon invited Mr Mousawi to pick her up, telling her that she was alone, but when he arrived Carberry attempted to take the Honda, sparking a tussle.
Justice Hamill determined the victim pulled a knife after he was hit with a pole by Honeysett, before he was disarmed and stabbed by Carberry in a case of "excessive self-defence".
"He [then] fled the scene, leaving Mr Mousawi to die," Justice Hamill said during sentencing.
The court heard the stabs were administered with a "moderate to severe degree of force" and penetrated Mr Mousawi's heart and a rib.
Justice Hamill determined Carberry intended to harm the deceased very seriously in response to "extreme circumstances".
"But he was jointly responsible for the circumstances existing because he was part of a plan to rob the deceased of his car," Justice Hamill said.
'Depressed and traumatised'
During the proceedings Justice Hamill referred to an impact statement describing the family's grief.
"The whole family is depressed and traumatised," Justice Hamill said.
"They can't stop thinking of their loved one whose life was unlawfully taken away."
In psychologists' reports submitted by defence Troy Anderson SC, the court heard Carberry experienced a traumatic childhood, had been using drugs since the age of 13, and had taken a cocktail of opiates, methamphetamine and ice in the days leading up to the killing.
He also experienced abuse in his childhood that Justice Hamill deemed too sensitive to be read in front of family who assembled in court.
Carberry faces eight years and nine months in prison and will be eligible for parole in November 2026.
Justice Hamill said he took Carberry's traumatic childhood and mental health into account.
"I am satisfied his failure to respond in a proportionate way when the knife was produced was partially a result of trauma history and ADHD," Justice Hamill said.
Honeysett and O'Hanlon have both been sentenced for attempted robbery.
Honeysett was sentenced to 18 months in prison and O'Hanlon was given a 12-month community corrective order.
