A Sydney man has been jailed for at least 17 years after he murdered his neighbour with a smashed beer bottle in front of the victim’s parents.
Sateki Siale was in August found guilty of murdering Kelly Ventigadoo, 45, as the older man farewelled his parents outside his Lakemba flat in the early hours of October 11, 2015.
Mr Ventigadoo died almost instantly from severe blood loss after a drunk Siale slashed his face and neck, severing his jugular vein and carotid artery.
A Sydney man (pictured in handcuffs) has been jailed for at least 17 years after he murdered his neighbour with a smashed beer bottle in front of the victim’s parents
Sateki Siale was in August found guilty of murdering Kelly Ventigadoo (pictured), 45, as the older man farewelled his parents outside his Lakemba flat in the early hours of October 11, 2015
New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Peter Garling on Friday sentenced the 26-year-old to a maximum of 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years.
Mr Ventigadoo’s mother, Cynthia, who put her hands on Siale’s chest to try to stop the attack, thanked prosecutors, the police and the judge outside court but said the sentence wouldn’t bring her son back.
‘Our son is not coming back and that’s why my husband couldn’t be here today,’ she told reporters.
‘He had a heart attack two weeks ago from the stress, so I didn’t want him to come.’
Siale had denied murder but admitted smashing a beer bottle on a brick fence then using it to fatally strike Mr Ventigadoo twice in the neck during an attack that lasted less than 15 seconds.
New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Peter Garling on Friday sentenced the 26-year-old (pictured) to a maximum of 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years
Siale (pictured) had denied murder but admitted smashing a beer bottle on a brick fence then using it to fatally strike Mr Ventigadoo twice in the neck during an attack that lasted less than 15 seconds
Siale had been drinking for several hours before the attack and when he approached the trio he asked: ‘Why the f*** you talking loud for? This is my street. I live here.’
The court heard Mr Ventigadoo fell against his mother’s car and slid to the ground after the first strike, and asked Siale ‘why did you do that?’
Siale struck again when Mr Ventigadoo returned to his feet, and the victim didn’t get back up, Justice Garling said on Friday.
He found Siale intended to cause grievous bodily harm, but could not conclude the man intended to kill.
Cynthia Ventigadoo (left), the mother of murdered man Kelly Ventigadoo, embraces a family friend outside the Supreme Court in Sydney
Jarvis Ventigadoo, the brother of murdered man Kelly Ventigadoo, gestures before speaking to the media outside the NSW Supreme Court
At his September sentence hearing, Siale apologised to his victim’s family and friends in court, saying he did not ‘expect forgiveness.’
‘I know he’s left a big dent in your hearts,’ Siale said.
‘I just want to say I’m sorry… I don’t know what else I can do.’
Murdered man Kelly Ventigadoo’s mother Cynthia Ventigadoo (centre), and brother Jarvis Ventigadoo (right) speak to the media