Newcastle man Dalton Trent Oliver sentenced to 11 years' jail over death of Graham Cameron

A Newcastle man has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for his involvement in killing a man and then setting fire to his unit.

Dalton Trent Oliver, 25, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Newcastle on Friday, after pleading guilty to manslaughter and destroying property by fire earlier this year.

Newcastle man Graham Cameron died from stab wounds to the neck inside his unit in the seaside suburb of Stockton on July 26, 2021.

In agreed facts tendered to the court during his trial, Oliver was described as a "mutual acquaintance" of the victim and had stayed at his unit on two nights in the month leading up to the incident.

The court heard on the morning of the offence, Oliver went to Mr Cameron's unit with an unknown person, one of them armed with a knife, before there was an altercation.

Mr Cameron was stabbed in the neck and the back three times and died soon after.

The court heard the offenders then deliberately set fire to the unit before leaving. 

Joint criminal enterprise 

Oliver was initially charged with murder over Mr Cameron's death, but prosecutors presented a fresh indictment in June with the murder charge dropped.

His Supreme Court trial was abandoned when he pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter, on the basis he was part of a joint criminal enterprise to assault the victim, but "it was not within his contemplation that there would be the intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm or death".

The court heard Oliver became aware the person he was with was armed with a knife before arriving at the victim's unit.

Oliver claimed he was present inside the unit when the altercation took place with the victim, but he did not stab him.

The DNA of Mr Cameron and Oliver was later found on partially burnt fabric.  

Non-parole period of seven years

In sentencing Oliver, Justice Mark Ierace said he would take into account the objective seriousness of the offence, the victim impact statement given by Mr Cameron's sister in an earlier sentencing hearing and Oliver's "difficult upbringing".

The court heard both of Oliver's parents were physically abusive and used illicit drugs. 

Justice Ierace said he understood Oliver was sexually abused at a young age and started using illicit drugs as early as age six.

"I am satisfied the offender has a compromised capacity to mature due to the exposure to substance abuse in childhood," he said.

"The offender learned responses of physical violence to stressful situations."

He said he was satisfied Oliver's role was as a "back-up" to the co-offender.

"Clearly the offence [of manslaughter] was not planned as the offender did not anticipate the deceased to be killed," he said.

Oliver was sentenced to 11 years' prison, with a non-parole period of seven years. 

He will be eligible for parole on October 4, 2029, taking into account time already served.