A man who fatally shot a police officer attempting to repossess his home in northwest Tasmania has been told he will be sentenced next month. Leigh Geoffrey Sushames, 47, pleaded guilty to murdering Constable Keith Smith on June 16, 2025, during a confrontation at his rural property.
The Incident
Sushames hid behind a blue Ford Falcon holding a rifle in his carport as two officers approached. Constable Smith, 57, asked how he was, and Sushames replied 'not good' before standing up and firing twice from less than two metres away, hitting the officer in the back and head. The killing was described as an execution by Crown prosecutor Daryl Coates SC.
Constable Smith's colleague, Sergeant Gavin Rigby, fled into bushland and radioed for help. Three special operations officers stationed nearby fired at Sushames, hitting his hand and disarming him.
Background
The court heard Sushames had stopped paying his mortgage in 2016, believing God would 'sort it out'. He told a friend in 2024, 'I will kill them or shoot them but nobody is going to take my house off me,' though the friend considered it a figure of speech. Sushames had a gun licence suspended in 2016 due to mental health concerns.
Defence lawyer Greg Richardson said Sushames had an abusive childhood, intense religious beliefs, and undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder, along with psychotic episodes from cannabis use. 'He formed the belief that God was somehow going to intervene and sort out his mortgage problems,' Richardson said.
Aftermath
The killing was the first fatal shooting of a Tasmanian police officer in over a century. Constable Smith, a 25-year veteran, was farewelled with full ceremonial honours. His brother Christopher said, 'There are no more phone calls... this hole in my life can never be filled.' His wife Janaha noted their stepdaughter Ava lost the only father she knew.
Sushames also pleaded guilty to attempted murder and aggravated assault. He will be sentenced on June 26.
