A Sydney man who punched, kicked and stomped another man to death over a pair of fake AirPods sold on Facebook Marketplace will spend at least 21 years behind bars.
Abdul Karaali was one of two men who murdered Ross Houllis at Wakeley in February 2020.
The 29-year-old attacked Houllis, 28, on Valentine’s Day after being recruited by Sami Hamdach, who believed he had been sold a fake pair of AirPods by Houllis.
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Houllis suffered a “catastrophic” brain injury and died three days later.
Karaali was found guilty of murder by a NSW Supreme Court jury in March and, on Monday, was sentenced to 28 years in prison with a non-parole period of 21 years.
Karaali looked down as his sentence was handed down.
Hamdach was jailed for at least 12 years after pleading guilty to murder earlier this year.
The day before the attack, Hamdach had bought a pair of AirPods from Houllis and, believing they were not genuine, enlisted Karaali for a revenge attack.
“(Karaali) was a willing recruit,” Justice Stephen Campbell said on Monday.
“He had plenty of time to consider the ramifications of Hamdach’s plan and pull out.”
While Hamdach planned the attack, Karaali was the one to carry out the murder and was seen on CCTV stomping on Houllis and kicking and punching him.
“I am satisfied that those blows were delivered with the intent to kill Mr Houllis,” Justice Campbell said.
He also stopped Houllis from escaping the attack and denied him from receiving help from members of the public who witnessed the victim laying on the road.
Karaali used “extreme physical violence” to cut Houllis’ life short.
“It is no easy thing to kill another human being by punching, kicking and stomping,” Justice Campbell said.
“It requires a determination to go on with it.
“Mr Houllis must have been very afraid.”
Justice Campbell described the reason for the murder as being “trivial” and said the attack on Hou