MARTIN BRYANT, accused of the worst mass killing in modern Australian history, laughed yesterday as he confessed to all 35 murders at the Port Arthur tourist site in April, reversing earlier pleas of not guilty.
Making an unexpected court appearance in Hobart on the island state of Tasmania, Bryant used a routine pre trial hearing to change his pleas.
Bryant (29), wearing a pale blue suit and collar length blond hair, occasionally broke into a grin as he eyeballed weeping relatives of victims and massacre survivors.
As each of a total of 72 charges was read out in the Supreme Court of Tasmania, Bryant either leaned into a microphone and mumbled "guilty" or gazed around the room as he admitted his guilt in a loud, clear voice. He took sips of water and once almost overbalanced as he pulled his head back with mute laughter after pleading guilty to murdering the massacre's youngest victim, three year old Madeleine Mikac.
Australia's worst firearm massacre began on a peaceful Sunday afternoon on April 28th last when Bryant opened fire on tourists with a high powered rifle among the stone ruins of a former penal colony at Port Arthur, on Tasmania's southeast coast.
Within minutes 24 people were dead, some where they sat eating their lunch. Within an hour the death toll was 32 and by dawn the next day 35 people were dead.
Bryant was arrested the next morning as he fled a nearby burning guesthouse where the last three victims were found. He suffered burns and was taken to hospital but was later transferred to a maximum security jail after death threats.
On September 30th, Bryant appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to all charges and was due to stand trial on November 19th.
Bryant's lawyer, Mr John Avery yesterday declined to explain why Bryant had reversed his pleas. "All I can say is we have been doing a lot of talking over the past few weeks and I am gratified that the right decision has been made," he said.
More than 100 witnesses were to have been called for a full trial though some survivors, still deeply traumatised by the killings, were crossed off the prosecution's witness list at the request of counsellors.