A man who broke down in tears during a police interview after he killed a beloved tradie with one punch has been handed a decade-long prison sentence.
Tyson Armstrong, 28, was sentenced to 10 years behind bars for the attack on Luke Francis, 29, in the Melbourne Crown Casino food court, in March last year.
Armstrong, a father-of-three, had spoken to Mr Francis for just five seconds in the game room before he suddenly pushed him from behind.
He then punched Mr Francis as he walked away, with the concreter knocked unconscious and rushed to hospital.
Mr Francis suffered a bleed on the brain but died days later when he was taken off life support.
Tyson Armstrong (left), 28, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for killing Luke Francis with a coward punch in March 2022
In an interview just 12 hours after the incident, Armstrong shook and sobbed in front of Victorian police officers, telling them he was ‘so sorry’ and ‘I just wish I walked the f**k away’.
On Friday, Justice Andrew Tinney said Armstrong had ‘launched a violent, cowardly and unforgivable attack’ on an innocent man who’d been out with his girlfriend, Tessa Penberthy.
Armstrong had pleaded guilty to manslaughter and must serve at least eight years in jail before he is eligible for parole.
Outside the Supreme Court, Armstrong’s loved ones shared their frustration at the sentence handed down to his attacker.
‘Ten years is nothing. He’ll get out at 37 – he’s got a family, he’s got kids, he took that away from Luke, he didn’t get a chance to have a family or a future and it just doesn’t touch walls,’ Ms Penberthy said, The Herald Sun reported.
Ms Penberthy said her partner ‘didn’t want any part’ of Armstrong’s violence, adding they were just trying to go home.
Mr Francis’ girlfriend, Tessa Penberthy (right) told reporters that the 10-year sentence was ‘nothing’
Luke Francis and Tessa Penberthy before the attack that killed him in 2022
Mr Francis’ mother, Michelle Harris, said she’d hoped Armstrong would have received a 15-year sentence.
‘Armstrong’s just nothing but a coward who likes to hit from behind and that makes me sick, sickens me,’ she said.
After the incident, Armstrong, who walked away from the scene without checking on his unconscious victim, broke down in tears when told by police that Mr Francis was on life support, and claimed he could not remember the attack.
‘I’m never going to be able to forgive myself if he passes away,’ Armstrong said at the time.
‘I feel selfish because I just want to see my family but I just feel like he might not see anyone again from my hands, and that’s what I can’t deal with, it’s not okay.’
He said he felt ‘so bad for him’ and didn’t want anyone to get hurt and struggled to remember the assault.
‘I can’t remember, I think I just grabbed him … I don’t remember what shirt he was wearing, or what he looked like … I don’t remember throwing a punch,’ he said.
But immediately after his arrest Armstrong also told police the victim had called him a ‘f***head’ and a ‘little dog’ and had invited him outside for a fight.
But the CCTV didn’t match up to his story and his own defence lawyer said he ‘saw what wasn’t there to be seen’.
Vision released by the Supreme Court revealed the pair had a five-second exchange on the casino floor before Armstrong followed him to the food court.
Armstrong will be eligible for parole in December, 2030.
Tyson Armstrong showed an outpouring of remorse after his arrest – trembling and crying before police (pictured) admitting he had assaulted the man
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