A man convicted of murdering a love rival by ambushing him in a hallway and repeatedly stabbing him in the chest has sacked his lawyer and wants to represent himself at his sentencing hearing in Perth.
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Daniel James Carrington stood trial in the West Australian Supreme Court, claiming he acted in self-defence against father-of-four Benjamin Egan in Northbridge in April 2017, but a jury found him guilty of murder.
CCTV footage showed some of the attack, followed by Carrington walking out of the Foundation Housing building, then running away. He later turned himself in to police.
Carrington was due to face a sentencing hearing on Wednesday but he told Justice Michael Corboy he had sacked his lawyer Jonathan Davies.
He said Legal Aid informed him he could not transfer to another lawyer but Justice Corboy offered to have his associate look into it further.
Carrington said regardless, he wanted to represent himself or look into "another option".
"I guess I don't really trust lawyers," he said.
Carrington said his preference was to proceed with his sentencing immediately but Justice Corboy said he would give him one week to think about it.
"If you insist on representing yourself then that ultimately is your choice," Justice Corboy said.
During the trial, the jury heard Mr Egan and Carrington had been neighbours and friends years earlier.
But their friendship soured after Carrington had a brief sexual relationship with Mr Egan's partner, Amanda Wilson, when the long-term couple separated for a time.
Carrington also learnt Mr Egan had allegedly broken into his storage unit.
Mr Davies said Mr Egan had a "longstanding and visceral hatred" of Carrington and had created a "climate of fear" for him, which meant he thought he was in danger.
Carrington testified Mr Egan had previously tried to attack him, including one incident in which Mr Egan came out of the shadows and tried to stab him.
Ms Wilson told the jury the final couple of years of her relationship with Mr Egan were marred by his methylamphetamine use.
She said the men had "a couple of fights" before the killing, including one incident in September 2016 when Carrington came to her home armed with a knife.
Ms Wilson wrote to Carrington while he was in prison on remand, expressing a desire to be with him, but he rejected her.
The case will return to court on March 3.
Australian Associated Press
