Davis tells court the burden of samurai sword killing drove him to attempt suicide

Blake Davis, who fatally swung a samurai sword into the skull of Jett McKee after his girlfriend chased the gun-wielding home invader into an inner Sydney street, has told a Supreme Court

sentence hearing the burden of his actions drove him to attempt suicide. Taking the stand moments after Mr McKee’s fiancee told the court she would never read Davis’ apology letter, Davis

delivered his apology verbally, saying he “never ever intended to take Jett’s life” and that he had “died emotionally” as a result of the killing. “I definitely lost a part of myself knowing

someone else’s life was taken as a result of my actions that day,” he said. “I have literally tried to take my life because of the burden. “It is nothing short of a nightmare for every

single person involved.” His mother, Kim Davis, told the court she has spent the last two years “trying to keep him alive” as he grappled with the consequences of killing Mr McKee. “I have

been watching the slow death of my son. He has just deteriorated to the point of suicide a number of times.” Ms Davis told the court when she first saw her son in police custody “he said to

me, ‘Mum, I want your permission to take my own life if I can’t cope with this any longer’. “I gave him my permission,” she said. “I didn’t want to see him suffer.” In a victim impact

statement given prior to Davis’ testimony, Mr McKee’s fiancee Averil Bowers stared him down in court and told him he had two years to apologise and it was “obvious” why he had written one

now. “I feel you have used every tactic at your disposal to vindicate yourselves,” she said. “You claimed you have suffered anxiety and trauma ... I don’t believe you know what those words

mean. “The life you cut down in such a cowardly way was more than you’ll ever be.” Davis told the court he felt remorse as soon as he found out Mr McKee had died, and would have sent an

apology letter to his family earlier had he not been told it would be a breach of his bail to contact them. Crown prosecutor Chris Taylor put to Davis, a professional actor, that he had

rehearsed his answers and was “ad libbing” and telling lies for the sake of improving his sentence. Davis replied “I’m sitting here today under oath telling the truth”. Davis, 31, struck the

fatal head blow to Mr McKee, a rapper, on August 10, 2018, after Hannah Quinn chased him from their Forest Lodge home where Mr McKee had attempted an armed robbery. He was tried for murder

but found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter on December 22, while Quinn, 26, was found guilty of being an accessory after the fact to manslaughter. They had both claimed their

actions were in self-defence, and Davis maintains his only intention in striking Mr McKee was “to save Hannah”. During the trial, the court heard Mr McKee, who had a “toxic to lethal” level

of methylamphetamine, or ice, in his blood, burst into Davis’ home in the afternoon armed with a pistol that fired blanks before striking Davis in the face with knuckledusters. Mr McKee’s

father told the court his son deserved to face the consequences of his actions instead of being slain in the street. “Jett was punished in the worst possible way and our family continues to

be punished,” he said, complaining about how his son was portrayed in media coverage of the trial. “Even though he was the victim, to me it felt like he had been reduced to a villain who

deserved what he got.” Davis and Quinn will be sentenced next month. LIFELINE: 13 11 14 CATCH ALL THE DAY’S BREAKING NEWS At the end of each day, we’ll send you the most important breaking

news headlines, evening entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy.  Sign up here.