A man who killed a near-stranger during a struggle in a Sydney hotel hallway could be released from prison within months.
Connor Godfrey, 22, killed Giuseppe Pagano at a hotel on Castlereagh St at Haymarket in April 2021.
He put the 43-year-old in a choke-hold after the older, larger man punched him in the head several times.
But Godfrey's actions in self-defence were declared excessive, including choking Mr Pagano for an extended period and applying the choke-hold a second time after the older man regained consciousness.
Justice Richard Cavanagh sentenced Godfrey to four years and nine months imprisonment in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, with a non-parole period of two years and 10 months.
Godfrey will first be eligible for parole in February, having been held in custody since his arrest shortly after Mr Pagano’s death.
He was accused of murdering the 43-year-old, but a trial was abandoned and the jury discharged earlier this year before prosecutors accepted Godfrey’s guilty plea to manslaughter.
There was a real risk of a miscarriage of justice if that trial proceeded, the judge said when dismissing jurors during its fourth week.
The jury heard evidence from one expert whose opinion changed when they later saw better photos of the crime scene.
Godfrey and Mr Pagano met in the early hours of the morning on a street in Sydney’s city centre before travelling to Darling Harbour with a third man to buy drugs.
A violent altercation between the two men in a hallway was later captured on CCTV from the hotel where Godfrey was living.
The 22-year-old apologised after victim impact statements from Mr Pagano’s daughter and older brother were read in court in October.
"It’s too late for sorry bud," Mr Pagano's older brother Darryn Clifton responded at the time.
Anastasia Pagano, whose statement was read in her absence, said despite her father's drug addiction he always tried his best for her.
"He was a kind soul, fighting a rough battle,” she said of her father.
The judge said the terrible impact of drugs on the victim was evident.
“Like too many members of our society, Mr Pagano did his best to be a good father and brother, but it is clear that he struggled to overcome his addiction,” he said.
Godfrey also had a history of substance abuse issues, beginning when he was 13, however since entering custody he had done his best to change the course of his life, Justice Cavanagh said.
He had been sober, working and behaving himself in custody, and should spend a longer time on parole so that he can be supported in his rehabilitation, the judge said.
He accepted Godfrey had shown remorse and said he had excellent prospects of rehabilitation.
