A mass shooter trying to appeal his conviction for throwing hot coffee at a fellow inmate claims he is being ‘discriminated against’ by the justice system.
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann, 50, killed four people in a drug-fueled rampage in Darwin in 2019 and is now serving three life sentences after admitting three murders and one manslaughter.
He managed to cause even more trouble behind bars by ‘swiping’ a hot coffee at fellow inmate Jason Doyle in November 2021.
Hoffmann was convicted of aggravated assault and ordered to spend a minimum of three months behind bars – concurrent with his three life sentences.
However, on Monday he faced the Northern Territory Supreme Court for a hearing to appeal the verdict, claiming his post-traumatic stress disorder meant his attack on a fellow inmate “was a reaction, it was not an attack”.
Benjamin Hoffmann (circled, on the phone before the attack) threw hot coffee at a fellow inmate in 2021
Benjamin Glenn Hoffmann (pictured), 50, killed three people in a drug-fuelled rampage in Darwin in 2019 and is now serving three life sentences
Hoffmann also argued the court ‘discriminated’ against him by pronouncing a guilty verdict, NT news reported.
“Because I have that life sentence, they’re basically saying I’m guilty of everything,” he said.
“I don’t know what I did to deserve this.”
In disturbing CCTV footage from Darwin Correctional Center, Hoffmann, considered one of the state’s worst killers, is on the phone moments before confronting Doyle.
Hoffmann claimed that a confrontation with Doyle the day before had left him tense, as the inmate had threatened him and called him a “son of a bitch.”
“I expect to be attacked, people around me to shout and shout, I get hot and cold flashes, I feel the punches land on my head,” Hoffmann told the court.
He approached Doyle as he sat across from another inmate drinking a cup of coffee.
The video shows the pair having a heated argument, with Hoffmann feigning a punch at one point.
Doyle claimed that Hoffmann challenged him to a fight in the cells, while Hoffmann claimed that Doyle told him, “I can fight, Hoffy” and “I’ll beat the shit out of you.”
The altercation came to a head when Hoffmann poured Doyle’s coffee on him.
Hoffmann (shown in red) claims his attack on fellow inmate Jason Doyle (left) was ‘a reaction, not an attack’
Hoffmann (pictured arrested by police on the morning of his 2019 shooting) is serving three life sentences
Hoffman killed four people (pictured) during a mass shooting through Darwin in 2019 (pictured clockwise from top left: Robert Courtney, Hassan Baydoun, Michael Sisois and Nigel Hellings)
On Monday, Hoffmann claimed his trauma-induced stress was exacerbated by several “brutal,” “premeditated, unprovoked” attacks from fellow inmates.
In April 2021, Hoffmann was attacked by three men who punched and kicked him until he was unconscious.
In another incident, a group of men circled him in the yard and shouted “full damage” until someone hit him in the back of the head.
“I knocked myself out on the ground, where I urinated in my pants and everything,” Hoffmann told the court.
It has not yet been determined who will represent Hoffmann’s appeal, which will take place on July 9.