Update on man who stalked, killed co-worker
The court case of a Melbourne man who stalked and killed a young co-worker has been delayed after a “breakdown” with his lawyer, a court has been told.
Luay Nader Sako returned before the Victorian Supreme Court on Monday for a presentence hearing after pleading guilty to the stabbing murder of Celeste Manno, 23, in 2020.
Ms Manno was murdered in her Mernda home on November 16 after Sako broke into the home in the early hours of the morning.
The pair had previously worked together in a call centre, where Sako began stalking her.
Sako was represented in court by barrister Tim Marsh, who asked for the matter to be adjourned because he’d only recently been briefed on the case.
“In late June, the legal relationship between the accused and his solicitor broke down … since then Mr Sako has engaged new representation,” he said.
In court, Sako sat hunched over, his eyes fixated on the dock in front of him.
At an earlier appearance on June 23, Sako said he wanted to dump his lawyers and revoke his guilty plea after feeling he was “under pressure” from his solicitors, the Herald Sun reported.
But on Monday, Mr Marsh said Sako was no longer wishing to change is plea.
“We’re not seeking to vacate or transverse the plea,” he told the court.
He said a forensic psychiatrist had been engaged to probe the circumstances of the offending and provide a report to the court.
Mr Marsh said while Sako had undergone “extensive” psychological assessment, it mostly related to his mental fitness to plea and not how his mental health contributed to the offending.
The matter was adjourned by Justice Jane Dixon and will return before court on October 16.
