Australian pleads guilty to 35 murders

Martin Bryant, the man accused of the worst mass killing in modern Australian history, pleaded guilty early today to all 35 murders at the Port Arthur historic site in April, reversing an earlier plea of not guilty.

Bryant, 29, laughed and smirked as he pleaded guilty to a total of 72 charges, including the 35 murders, during an appearance in the Supreme Court of Tasmania to discuss his trial.

As each charge was read out, Bryant either leaned towards a microphone and mumbled "guilty" or he looked around the room at survivors of the massacre and relatives of the victims and loudly said "guilty". Judge William Cox adjourned the case until 19 November for a plea of mitigation and sentencing, warning the media against prejudicing Bryant. Hobart - Reuter