R v Tammer-Spence [2026] NSWSC 1090

R v Tammer-Spence [2026] NSWSC 1090. Cavanagh J sentenced Jacob Tammer-Spence for manslaughter by excessive self-defence after he fatally stabbed Sitaleki Filihiahekava once in the chest during a brief street confrontation. The central issue was the offence’s objective seriousness, particularly how far the force exceeded a reasonable response to Tammer-Spence’s genuine fear that he might be shot. The Court found the resort to a knife significantly excessive, while accepting that his traumatic deprivation and causally significant PTSD reduced moral culpability. After a 25 per cent guilty-plea discount and a finding of special circumstances, he received eight years and three months’ imprisonment, with a five-year, five-month non-parole period.