A man who killed another over a pair of fake Apple earphones has been jailed for at least 21 years.
Abdul Karaali, 29, received a 28-year prison sentence with eligibility for parole in 2041 after a NSW Supreme Court jury found him guilty of murder.
Ross Houllis died in hospital from catastrophic injuries to the brain and lungs after he was brutally beaten by Karaali and Sami Hamdach on in February 2020.
Justice Stephen Campbell called the murder "gratuitous, senseless and cruel" before handed down the sentence to a celebratory cry from Mr Houllis's supporters.
Outside King Street Courts, Ross's mother Janet Houllis tearfully thanked the family's legal team and NSW Police.
"I'm glad that he got what he got but it doesn't bring Ross back," she said.
"I feel relieved that it's over, that we don't have to go through this all again."
Hamdach bought Apple Airpods from Mr Houllis and his brother Matthew off Facebook Marketplace without realising they were fake.
In an attempt to "not only extract a refund but to teach Mr Houllis a lesson", Hamdach covertly arranged another meeting with the seller while hiring Kaarali to act as "the muscle", Justice Campbell said.
"(Karaali) was prepared to engage in egregiously retaliatory acts over a consumer dispute most people would regard as trivial," he said on Monday.
The 28-year-old victim had suspected trouble was afoot and initially asked his brother to accompany him. But with Matthew unavailable, Mr Houllis was went to the rendezvous point alone.
Initially hiding behind a small truck in the Western Sydney carpark, Hamdach held Mr Houllis while Karaali began the violent assault, punching him in the head and torso.
He later ripped the young man's T-shirt from his back and "with some athleticism" kicked him in the head with enough force to make him fall.
Mr Houllis tried to escape but was tackled by Karaali and frogmarched to the street, where he lay unconscious as the offender violently stomped on his chest.
Two passing motorists inquired about Mr Houllis. Karaali told one he had suffered from a drug overdose and the other the victim was intoxicated.
The beating only stopped when Hamdach came between the two.
The co-offenders soon left the scene, "effectively leaving him for dead", Justice Campbell said.
Mr Houllis died three days later.
Hamdach had been sentenced to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to his role in the crime while his partner, who arranged for Mr Houllis to meet and sell another pair, received a two-year sentence that will be served in the community.
With the court proceedings concluded, Mrs Houllis told reporters was preparing to leave NSW to try leave the painful memories behind.
"I can't walk out onto the street and see where they found him lying on the grass. It was so close," she said.
"(But) he's in my heart, he's with me all the time."
