A man who pleaded guilty to the murder of Melbourne woman Celeste Manno is pushing ahead with his bid to overturn his previous admission of guilt.
Luay Nader Sako, 36, of Roxburgh Park, formally pleaded guilty in March after doctors testified he was mentally fit to stand trial.
Sako appeared in the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday with a new barrister, who will represent him at trial should his about-face be granted by the court.
Celeste Manno, 23, was murdered in her Melbourne home in November 2020
Luay Sako, 36, attended a local police station hours after Ms Manno’s death and was taken to hospital under police guard, and was charged with murder
Celeste Manno had been in the prime of life when she was stabbed to death in her own bed
Sako had originally been represented by high profile criminal barrister Sam Norton, of Stary Norton Halphen.
With Sako’s mental impairment defence no longer viable, Mr Norton had suggested earlier in the proceedings that his client would likely plead guilty to the murder.
But when the matter returned to court, a frustrated Mr Norton advised Sako had continued to use delay tactics in the hope of stringing out the plea.
Mr Norton advised he would be forced to dump Sako as a client if he failed to plead guilty to the crime, which went ahead in March.
However, Sako has since told the court he now wants to plead not guilty.
In June, Sako had indicated he would represent himself at trial should his plan to overturn his guilty plea be granted.
‘The last hearing where I pleaded guilty, that decision was made on the day of the hearing and I felt I was under pressure and still haven’t had my answers met,’ Sako told Justice Jane Dixon then.
Sako was represented by Victorian Legal Aid barrister Glenn Cooper on Friday, whose instructing solicitor only made contact with Sako on Wednesday.
Mr Cooper told the court he had no idea if Sako intended to continue with his bid to change his plea or proceed with his preliminary plea hearing, which was booked in for July 24.
Sako’s backflip is the latest slap in the face to Ms Manno’s family after he originally pleaded not guilty to the stabbing murder in anticipation of securing an assessment from a forensic psychiatrist that supported an assertion he was not capable of committing the crime due to his poor mental health.
Ms Manno was Sako’s team leader at a Serco call centre before he was fired from the role
Heartbroken mum Aggie Di Mauro pictured with her beloved daughter
Sako allegedly smashed through his former colleague’s window at her family home in Mernda, in Melbourne’s northeast, before repeatedly stabbing her with a knife as she lay in bed in November 2020.
The road to bring Sako to justice has been long, with the alleged killer appearing in court repeatedly over the years in an effort to convince forensic doctors he had been insane when he killed his victim.
In March last year, the court heard while Dr Andrew Carroll – on behalf of Sako – argued the killer was too mentally unwell to properly direct his lawyers, Dr Clare McInerney – for the prosecution – believed that prognosis could be cured.
Crown prosecutor Patrick Bourke asked Sako be assessed yet again – this time by forensic psychologist Professor James Ogloff.
A plan to put Sako to trial over his mental impairment was abandoned in February when the court heard the once conflicted doctors had come to the conclusion that Sako indeed knew what he was doing at the time of the murder and was well enough to stand trial.
But even then, Sako continued to try and work the system in the hope of delaying his May 16 murder trial long enough to convince doctors he was again too sick to stand trial.
The court heard Sako insisted on remaining locked away from other inmates in an isolation unit where he refused to take medications at least one expert believed would help him stand trial for murder.
Sako had repeatedly threatened suicide if he were to be moved out of his isolation cell, where he spends up to 23-hours a day in lockdown.
Ms Manno’s long suffering friends and family have already endured years of agony waiting for Sako to face justice.
Police allege Sako had struck in the dead of night, killing Ms Manno before jumping over a fence that was left stained with blood.
Sako attended a local police station hours later and was taken to hospital under police guard and treated for a hand injury that required surgery.
At Sako’s very first court hearing in 2020, the court heard Sako had no mental health issues and was not on any medication at the time his 23-year old victim was killed.
Sako had been freed to live in the community at the time of the murder after being charged with breaching a restraining order.
Ms Manno was Sako’s team leader at a Serco call centre in South Morang and comforted him when he left the company a year earlier.
Sako will return to court on July 24.
DailyMail
