Thomas Bednar, 54, repeatedly interrupted lawyers and Justice Andrew Tinney during a pre-sentence hearing at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Friday.
His mother Judy Bednar, 78, was found dead in the bedroom of her Chelsea home in May 2021 after suffering a number of blows, which caused significant rib fractures.
Bednar pleaded not guilty to her murder and faced a trial last year, with a jury returning its guilty verdict on November 29.
His barrister John Desmond told the court on Friday his client continued to maintain he was not involved in the killing.
“He maintains that he is an innocent man who has been wrongly convicted by the jury and we will be appealing the conviction,” he said.
Bednar disrupted the hearing by audibly sighing and speaking to Tinney from his dock at the back of the courtroom.
“You’re a biased man, Your Honour,” Bednar said.
“All I know is I was charged for a crime I did not commit.”
He claimed his trial was unfair and alleged family friend Danny Cohen was somehow involved, a theory his lawyer put to the jury at trial.
“We’ve already established the fact that Cohen lied over 30 times but you reckon he’s a good bloke,” Bednar said.
“It should have been a mistrial, Your Honour.”
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Tinney was critical of Bednar continuing to make false allegations against Cohen in court.
“It’s a very serious step to carry out a murder, which the jury verdict indicates he did, and to then, in court, make false allegations against an entirely innocent man,” he said.
“It’s a very strong step to take and shows a level of not only desperation, but a level of vindictiveness towards Mr Cohen.”
Bednar also denied he had any psychiatric conditions, despite being diagnosed with bipolar and a differential diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder.
Prosecutor Mark Rochford KC did not ask for Bednar to be handed a life sentence, but said the crime warranted a substantial non-parole period.
“This is a brutal, sustained physical attack on an elderly, vulnerable woman who is entitled to feel safe,” he said.
Rochford questioned why Bednar, who was seen on security cameras trying to get into his mother’s house about 4am around the time of her murder, was there so late at night when he knew she’d be sleeping.
Victim impact statements were not read to court, but Tinney said they spoke of Judy Bednar as a “generous and decent person”.
Bednar remains in custody and will be sentenced at a later date.
