00:02Almost a year after Constable Keith Smith was shot dead while serving a repossession
00:08notice at a property in northwest Tasmania, the Supreme Court in Burney heard sentencing
00:13submissions about the man who's pleaded guilty to his murder, Lee Jeffrey Sushams.
00:19Director of Public Prosecutions Darryl Coates, SC, described Sushams' actions that day as
00:25little more than an execution.
00:27He said Sushams had not paid his mortgage for several years because this was God wanting
00:33him to let God take care of everything.
00:36He expected God would pay the mortgage.
00:39And in 2024 told a friend he would resist efforts to repossess the property, saying I will kill
00:45them or shoot them but no one is going to take my house off me.
00:49The court was shown police body-worn camera vision on the day Constable Smith was killed.
00:54In it, he asked Sushams how he was.
00:57Sushams responded no good.
00:59He then revealed a rifle and pointed it at the two officers.
01:04Soon after, two loud gunshots could be heard.
01:08Sushams' lawyer, Greg Richardson, said his client was taking responsibility by pleading guilty.
01:13Why did this happen is the question that everyone seems to ask.
01:17There is no answer that can come from Mr. Sushams.
01:20He has consistently maintained he does not know why he did what he did.
01:24The court also heard victim impact statements from members of Constable Smith's family and
01:30the police officer who accompanied him on the day of his death.
01:33Sushams will be sentenced next month.
01:38Sushams Bill
01:40Sushams
01:40at the time he has been arrested for murder.
01:40He did not know why he did not know.
01:40He has been arrested for murder.
01:40You
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