Hannah Quinn appeals to overturn conviction over samarai sword killing of Jett McKee
Girlfriend of samurai swordsman who bludgeoned aspiring rapper to death after breaking into their home returns to court to appeal ‘unreasonable conviction:’ Miscarriage of justice’
- Hannah Quinn tries to have the conviction overturned
- Subsequently convicted of complicity in manslaughter
- Judges reserved their verdict for a later date
A woman is appealing her ‘unreasonable’ conviction after she was convicted of helping her then-boyfriend flee after he killed a home intruder with a samurai sword.
Hannah Quinn, 28, appeared before the NSW High Court on Friday, flanked by friends and family, as she sought to overturn her conviction for complicity in manslaughter.
She was sentenced to two years of community service in May 2021 after a jury found her guilty of aiding her then-boyfriend Blake Davis after he killed aspiring rapper Jett McKee.
McKee had broken into their home wearing a balaclava and attempted to rob the couple on the afternoon of August 10, 2018.
Hannah Quinn is appealing her conviction for helping her ex-boyfriend Blake Davis (not pictured) evade police after he killed a man with a samurai sword
He used brass knuckles to knock Davis out cold before attempting to flee, but the pair chased him down the street at Sydney’s Forest Lodge.
The court heard Quinn catch up to the intruder and wrestle him before Davis ran over to them.
He killed the would-be robber by swinging the samurai sword at his head.
The couple then went on the run for three days, staying in multiple hotels in an attempt to evade police.
On Friday, the court heard there was a question mark over whether McKee had threatened Quinn with a gun just before her boyfriend stepped in and slashed him with the sword.
Her lawyer Belinda Rigg SC explained that the 28-year-old “threatened her life” just before he was killed in front of her.
She argued that Davis saw the gun and acted honestly in self-defense to protect himself and his girlfriend, who “didn’t think he was acting unreasonably at the time.”
Jett McKee (pictured) was killed in the botched home invasion.
The gun was found at the scene in a pool of blood. Photo: Supreme Court of NSW
His knowledge of the gun brandishing at his girlfriend “would make his liability for manslaughter unreasonable and in turn make her liability unreasonable,” Ms Rigg said.
However, Chief Justice Andrew Bell told the court that Davis had “said very candidly that he couldn’t remember seeing it” during his testimony.
The court heard he endured “a hole in his memory” leading up to the deadly sword attack after McKee gave him a concussion earlier during the “terrifying home invasion.”
Crown Prosecutor Georgina Wright SC disputed the claim that McKee brandished a gun at Quinn, noting that witnesses testified that he was on all fours at the time.
“None of the witnesses saw a gun[in McKee’s hand],” she said.
She told the court that Quinn knew the circumstances of the murder, but afterwards helped her boyfriend “evade arrest for manslaughter.”
Hannah Quinn was surrounded by supporters at court on Friday
Ms Rigg said her client’s decision to go on the run with Davis and hide from police after the murder was misused was evidence that she knew she was guilty of a crime.
The Crown Prosecutor refuted the claim, noting that Davis had told the jury that he felt he had been under constant threats in the three days following the murder.
“It’s not that the jury overlooked other reasonable explanations for the behavior after the offense,” she said.
Ms Rigg is asking the court to reverse Quinn’s ‘unreasonable’ conviction for complicity in manslaughter on the basis of a ‘miscarriage of justice’.
Justices Andrew Bell, Helen Wilson and Deborah Sweeney reserved their verdict for a later date.
Davis, for his part, was sentenced in 2021 to five years and three months in prison for manslaughter.
With a non-parole period of two years and nine months, he will be eligible for release in August 2023.