A Melbourne man who rammed a knife through his best mate's heart before clambering over a 15th-floor balcony to get away from the police has pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Rian Farrell, 23, on Tuesday faced Victoria's Supreme Court for a pre-sentence hearing which heard that he scaled part of the Docklands high-rise in the moments after fatally stabbing Liam Cahill in May last year.
He then broke into an apartment on the 13th floor from the outside before taking the stairwell and then a lift down the rest of the way.
But his daring escape came undone when he was spotted by a police officer on the ground.
The court heard that Farrell shook his best mate after discovering his body, urging him to "wake up".
'See blood on the walls'
Farrell later told investigators that Mr Cahill, 22, had punched him first.
He then asked how long he would be going to jail for manslaughter.
Defence barrister Peter Matthews told the court his client was consumed with regret.
"He can hear his friend's screaming and see blood on the walls," he said.
But he also said Farrell had been backed into a corner, was panicked, and acted in "excessive self-defence".
Justice Jane Dixon pushed him on this point.
"People can be motivated by both anger and fear at the same time," she said.
'Why do I have to leave?'
On May 30 last year, Mr Farrell rented an apartment through Airbnb to celebrate the birthday of his girlfriend. His best friend, Cahill, was invited.
In the hours before the party, the two friends were captured by security footage joking together.
But a few hours later, things turned violent after Cahill fought with another guest.
Mr Farrell asked him to leave "out of respect" for his girlfriend, but Cahill refused and pleaded to stay: "You're my best friend, why do I have to leave?"
The pair then began fighting, although Farrell still maintains he was the one being attacked.
"The stab wound was through and through Mr Cahill's heart and left lung.
"The depth of the stab wound was later found to be 20 centimetres."
In the moments after the brawl, Mr Cahill left the apartment by himself and collapsed in the hallway. He died where he lay.
His father, Timothy Cahill, said he would never be able to forgive Farrell.
"Liam's life was taken not in an act of misadventure … but in a deliberate act of violence," he said.
Farrell will be sentenced at a later date.
