The ex-partner of a murdered man plotted with two others to confront him outside their hotel, a court has heard.
Ricky Rowlands, 46, was stabbed three times on the evening of October 10, 2020, near the Ibis Hotel in Melbourne, which was being used to house homeless Victorians during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Mr Rowlands was rushed to hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
His ex-partner Candice Harper, her new boyfriend Jamie Holt and his friend Benjamin McCartin were convicted of the murder following a five week-trial at the end of last year.
The trio returned before the Supreme Court of Victoria on Tuesday for a pre-sentence hearing where the impact of the murder on Mr Rowlands family was laid bare.
The court heard Mr Rowlands became involved in an argument with his three killers at around 8pm the same night outside the hotel, which led to a street fight with McCartin.
Prosecutor David Glynn said the trio returned to a room in the hotel where they “formed a plan to violently confront Mr Rowlands”.
An hour and a half later, they returned to the street and a confrontation broke out.
“This murder occurs in the context of a three on one assault with a knife in a public place,” he said.
“Mr Rowlands fights back and things happen as they happened. They were all perfectly safe in the hotel, there’s security guards at the door.”
The court heard the brawl escalated after Harper was “thrown” by Mr Rowlands into the street.
Holt smashed a bottle over Mr Rowlands’ head before he and Harper held him down on the ground as McCartin inflicted the fatal wounds.
“My argument was he passed on the knife to the person that was willing to use it,” Mr Glynn said.
As he lay bleeding on the ground in Melbourne’s CBD, Harper stood over him hurling abuse.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Rowlands’ daughter, Shanay Rowlands, said she still struggled to comprehend “the day I lost both my parents”.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of him – his wicked laugh and sense of humour,” she said.
“I feel so much rage and pain that burns every inch of my body – I hate that feeling.
“My dad was murdered and my mum was involved. I did hate everyone, I wanted revenge … hatred is not going to bring him back, it‘s just going to turn me into an empty shell.”
His partner Bethany Micallef told the court she felt like she was robbed of her chance of having a loving and carefree life.
“I can honestly say I never knew love like this … I now have to go on the rest of my life without my soulmate,” she said.
“They took my happiness away from me for the rest of my life.”
Lawyers acting for the three killers told Justice Stephen Kaye their clients did not plan to stab Mr Rowlands ahead of time.
Each outlined their clients’ troubled past, battles with mental health issues and drug use.
“Without seeking to blame Mr Rowlands, there’s a lead up to the ultimate stabbing,” McCartin’s barrister, Michael McGrath, said.
“There appears to be an intention from the group to confront Rowlands.
“That might well have been the end of it, but tragically it wasn’t.”
Holt’s lawyer told the court his client had suffered critical injuries after falling five storeys from his hotel room shortly after the attack and had no memory of the incident.
“The homicide squad was of the view he would not survive the injuries,” he said.
“His first memory is waking up and wondering why he’s handcuffed to the bed … He remembers the death of his sister, he remembers fishing with his father but between these are gaps.”
He told the court Holt had suffered a myriad of injuries and was in an induced coma for “in excess” of 30 days.
Harper’s lawyer, Alexander Patton, took issue with Mr Glynn’s characterisation of his client and Holt “restraining him so he could be stabbed”.
“It’s up to your honour to make a finding; we say she was grappling, she was trying to stop him getting back up,” he said.
Justice Kaye reserved sentencing to a later date.