THE sister of a man who was attacked and "savagely" stabbed in his own home at Stockton in 2021 before two people set fire to his unit to cover up the killing says his death "destroyed" their family and the fire burned up all memories of him.
Dalton Trent Oliver, now 24, and a juvenile went to Graham Cameron's unit in Fullerton Street about 3.30am on July 26, 2021.
The pair, who had spent the night smoking cannabis and playing Xbox, had decided to assault Mr Cameron, their motive still unclear more than three years later.
Oliver was only going to assist in bashing Mr Cameron "if necessary", according to court documents, but sometime during the short walk to Fullerton Street he became aware that the juvenile had a knife.
And so when they got to Mr Cameron's unit and went inside, Mr Oliver stood by and watched as the juvenile attacked Mr Cameron, the level of violence "escalating rapidly" until Mr Cameron had been stabbed in the neck and back three times.
Oliver did nothing to help Mr Cameron or stop the juvenile from stabbing the 54-year-old.
And then, as Mr Cameron lay dying from his wounds, the pair set a fire in a bid to destroy all evidence.
The blaze initially had the desired effect when firefighters discovered the body and assumed Mr Cameron had died as a result of the smoke and flames.
It wasn't until a few days later that an autopsy revealed Mr Cameron had died before the fire and suffered a number of fatal stab wounds.
Meanwhile on the night of the stabbing, Mr Oliver and the juvenile had set another fire. This one was on the banks of the Hunter River near Fullerton Street, where they placed the clothes they were wearing.
Police were able to recover a few pieces of burnt fabric and testing revealed blood, the DNA of Mr Cameron and, crucially, the DNA of Mr Oliver.
Oliver, who remains the only person charged over Mr Cameron's death, was expected to face a murder trial in June but pleaded guilty to manslaughter on the basis that he "did not foresee as a possibility that the juvenile would act with an intent to cause grievous bodily harm or kill".
He also admitted to intentionally damaging property by fire in company after the blaze set to destroy evidence also caused a huge amount of damage and put other residents at risk.
Oliver faced a sentence hearing in Newcastle Supreme Court on Friday and listened as Mr Cameron's sister, Bernice Hughes, attempted to put into words the impact of his death.
"Graham battled cancer in the last couple of years of his life," Ms Hughes said.
"He completed chemotherapy and ultimately beat cancer. He was a strong and determined man.
"Dalton Oliver, on behalf of my family, you destroyed it. I would like you to understand, even though you probably don't care, how much your actions have caused my family to experience heartache and significant pain following the loss of my beautiful brother.
"My family suffers every day. Our lives have been changed forever."
Ms Hughes said the fire set after Mr Cameron's death had added to the heartache for his family because they "have no memories to hold and keep safe".
During sentence submissions, public defender Lizzie McLaughlin said what happened the night of Mr Cameron's death was a "quick, unplanned and chaotic set of events" and Oliver's role in the assault was "to do nothing expect be there".
Ms McLaughlin did not dispute that Oliver did not try to stop the juvenile or tell him not to use the knife and said he did not assist Mr Cameron.
She said Oliver had a strong subjective case after a difficult and deprived upbringing and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Justice Mark Ierace, SC, will sentence Oliver next month.
