A Sydney actor accused of murdering a fleeing home intruder with a samurai sword had acted with "bravery, gallantry, valour and courage" in protecting his girlfriend, a jury has been told.
"You ran to defend and protect the woman you loved and, just as your great-grandfather had done over 100 years earlier, you did not hesitate to come to the defence of something that meant something that you, as he, held dear," barrister Tom Hughes said on Friday.
He was addressing Blake Davis in the NSW Supreme Court dock as he gave the closing address on behalf of his client - and Davis's girlfriend - Hannah Quinn.
Davis, 31, has pleaded not guilty to murdering Jett McKee who he struck in the head with the sword shortly after the intruder fled the Forest Lodge unit on August 10, 2018.
Quinn, 26, denies being an accessory after the fact to murder or manslaughter.
The judge previously directed the jury to acquit Quinn of murder, a charge which had been laid on the basis of being part of a joint criminal enterprise with her boyfriend.
The Crown alleges the samurai attack was senseless, totally unnecessary and unlawful, contending Davis had not been acting in self-defence or in defence of Quinn noting they had chased Mr McKee down the street.
But, in submitting Quinn was not guilty, Mr Hughes repeated Davis's evidence about his belief that the intruder had shot him and on hearing his girlfriend screaming, believed her life was in danger when he struck Mr McKee.
On the evening before the attack, the barrister said Davis was at home "with the woman you loved, my client Hannah Quinn", noting homes were places where people were entitled to feel safe and secure.
When Davis ran out to protect the woman he loved after the intruder stormed into their unit, he was doing just as his war veteran great-grandfather had done.
"For him, King and country and a way of life.
"For you, the woman you loved. I, for one, see in that response bravery, gallantry, valour and courage, true and shining."
He said Davis stepped between his girlfriend and the intruder, which "took real courage, not movie courage, not Jackie Chan courage.
"You had stepped between your girlfriend and a gun," he said.
The Crown says no witnesses saw Mr McKee pointing a gun up at Quinn, which she told police happened.
The trial continues before Justice Natalie Adams.
