A Sydney actor found guilty of killing a home invader with a samurai sword is performing lines and faking his teary apology, prosecutors say as sentencing looms.
Blake Davis, 31, was in December found guilty of the manslaughter of Jett McKee who he struck in the head with the sword after the ice-fuelled intruder fled his Forest Lodge unit on August 10, 2018.
Davis' girlfriend Hannah Quinn, 26, was also convicted of being an accessory after the fact to Mr McKee's manslaughter.
Speaking in court on Friday, Davis apologised to Mr McKee's loved ones, saying he would have done so earlier if his bail conditions had allowed him to contact them.
"I will never comprehend the pain you have gone through," Davis said.
"I don't expect you to accept my apology."
But Mr McKee's family wasn't buying it, saying he was feigning remorse to reduce his sentence.
In a victim impact statement, McKee's partner Averil Bowers told of her struggle to give birth to and raise their son after his death.
"When you took Jett's life, you didn't just end his existence, you robbed his son of a father (and) myself of a partner.
"(But) throughout this long and drawn-out ordeal, you have shockingly and disturbingly portrayed yourself as victims.
"I feel that you have used every tactic at your disposal to vindicate yourself while vilifying Jett."
McKee's parents both told the court they'd never recover from their son's violent killing.
"It was effortless to love him and cataclysmic to lose him," mother Lynn said in a written statement read to the court.
"It is like being permanently winded, devoid of hope."
Had Davis felt any remorse, it should have been evident before now, McKee's family says.
But Davis' mother Kim told the court her son had died in a sense too.
While in jail after the attack, he rapidly deteriorated, she said.
"He said to me, 'Mum I want your permission to take my own life'. I gave my permission."
She said family and friends were shocked when they learned Davis was charged, because he was kind, empathetic and not violent.
"Every single person was in incredulity. Everyone said 'No not Blake. No way, not Blake'."
But neither Davis nor his mother convinced the crown prosecutor Chris Taylor of remorse either.
Citing his acting training, Mr Taylor accused Davis of performing.
"Did that course involved learning a script and learning how to deliver it? That's what you've done here today isn't it?"
"There's no script for real life Mr Crown ... It is just my truth of evidence," Davis countered.
"The evidence that you've given is not genuine evidence in many regards ... it is simply the recitation of what Your Honour might want to hear to better your position?" Mr Taylor said.
"No," Davis responded.
Justice Natalie Adams said it was clear Davis felt remorse, but "remorse analogous to a soldier taking a life in battle".
He regretted that his actions caused the death of McKee, but didn't acknowledge the illegality of them, she said.
Remorse in the legal sense requires that, she said, but Davis' barrister Margaret Cunneen SC disagreed.
"We will ultimately submit that genuine remorse for results of the action must come a long way towards true remorse," she said.
Further complicating sentencing is Davis' inability to recall the attack but his insistence that he didn't intend to kill McKee.
"I don't even know where to start," Justice Adams said.
The case was adjourned until March 5.
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Australian Associated Press
