Goulburn Correctional Centre inmate Mert Ney sentenced after lighting cell on fire

Mert Ney, 23, is currently serving a 44-year-sentence for the murder of Michaela Dunn in 2019.

Ney stabbed Ms Dunn to death in an unprovoked attack at a Sydney CBD apartment after he booked a sex work appointment and brought a knife with him.

He then went on a violent rampage through Sydney's CBD, stabbing a second woman and attempting to stab a third before bystanders intervened, some wielding chairs and a milk crate.

Ney pled guilty and was sentenced to 44 years jail in May 2021.

On Wednesday, September 14, Ney appeared in Goulburn Local Court court via video link from jail, for sentencing on one count of intentionally or recklessly damaging property by fire.

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Police documents revealed around 1.30pm on June 2 correctional officers smelt smoke and, upon investigation, located a large amount of smoke and a fire within Ney's cell.

The cell door was opened to extinguish the fire and Ney was found in a rear exercise yard, which he accessed through an exit door from the cell as the fire started. Ney was uninjured.

The documents revealed aluminium foil was protruding from the electrical power points inside the cell and was determined to be the cause of the fire.

The court heard the fire caused extensive damage to the cell including the walls, floor and roof. The mattress and electrical appliances including power points were destroyed.

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Ney's lawyer Melissa Huseyin said a combination of frustration and mental health conditions had led Ney to start the fire.

Police documents revealed Ney told police he had started the fire because "he was sick of lockdowns happening at the Correctional Centre."

Ms Huseyin said Ney was currently on antipsychotic and antidepressant medications and urged the magistrate to consider a reduction to moral culpability given his mental health.

Magistrate Geraldine Beattie acknowledged that Ney had been kept in segregation with minimal human contact and the conditions he was being treated for reduced his moral culpability.

"If that fire had spread ... with people locked in cells ... the danger to everyone at the jail would have been huge," Magistrate Beattie said.

"There was also a danger to anyone coming into the cell to put out the fire.

"You're not going to make it any easier for yourself by continuing to commit offences."

Ney, whose earliest release date is in 2063, was sentenced to 12 months jail time to be served concurrently with his current sentence.

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