The night a young woman desperately tried to save a dying man after a violent stabbing will never leave her.
"I will never forget seeing a man taking his final breaths or hearing the sound of his suffering," Ella Cross told Melbourne's Supreme Court.
"I was only 20 years old at the time, and I had simply tried to help someone who appeared to need it, and never imagined that doing so would expose me to such a traumatic event."
Ms Cross described the profound impact of witnessing the murder, including losing her sense of safety, trust in people, and having to deal with PTSD and anxiety in the two years since.
"The person I was before that night feels very different to the person I am today," she said.
"What I find most difficult to accept is that none of this was the result of a choice that I made, I was simply trying to help another person.
"The experience ripped away much of my innocence and fundamentally changed how I view the world."
Her experience in court exacerbated her trauma from events of May 2024, after killer Robin Robin pleaded not guilty and took the case to trial
Preparing statements, attending hearings and giving evidence required Ms Cross to repeatedly revisit the most distressing moment of her life.
Despite all this, Ms Cross said she would try to save another person’s life “without hesitation” if faced with a similar situation in the future.
"I refuse to let this experience take away my compassion or willingness to help others. I could never be the type of person who stands by and does nothing when someone's in need," she said.
Robin, 30, faced a pre-sentence hearing on Thursday when he heard the impact of his crimes on witnesses including Ms Cross and family of his murder victim.
In a drunken rage, he attacked his housemate Sharwan Singh, then aged 30, in the early hours of May 5, 2024 after he left Robin's party early.
Robin stabbed Mr Singh in the chest with a knife, outside an Ormond home in Melbourne's southeast, and then turned on the man's friend.
As Navjeet Singh, 22, tried to stop Robin's attack on his friend, the killer held him by the collar and repeatedly stabbed him while he tried to escape.
Mr Singh survived the attack, however his younger friend Navjeet died from his injuries.
Robin was found guilty of murder and attempted murder by a jury in April.
Navjeet Singh's father Jitender Sandhu said the family had been "completely shattered" and their world had ended because of losing their only son.
"The joy and laughter of our home have now turned into silence and endless tears," he said in a statement read by prosecutors.
Robin's barrister John Desmond said his client had regret and remorse for his actions, despite running a trial based on self-defence against his sole surviving victim.
Justice Andrew Tinney pointed out Robin ran from the scene and left his victim dying on the road "showing no concern for him at all".
Robin, who is facing up to life in prison, will return to court for sentence on September 11.
