A man who savagely beat his mother to death in a drunken and drug-fuelled rage will spend the rest of his young adulthood behind bars.
Tia Minhinnick has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for murdering his mother, 41-year-old Angela Huata, at their home at Springvale in Melbourne's southeast in February 2022.
Minhinnick, who was aged 20 at the time, spent the night drinking with friends and was acting erratically, punching and headbutting one friend outside, before returning home.
The belief that his mother was mistreating a sibling mixed with a cocktail of alcohol and drug-use prompted the "vicious assault" on the night of February 9.
His housemates arrived home before midnight to find him standing over and yelling at his mother, who was sitting on the lounge room floor bleeding from her forehead.
Minhinnick's housemates retreated to their room after he threatened them when they tried to help his injured mother but did not call police out of fear.
He was heard on a neighbour's audio recording yelling, "get the f*** up, get the f*** out" as he continued his assault for up to two hours.
At some point, Minhinnick shifted Ms Huata from the lounge room to the garage where he continued the attack before eventually putting Band-Aids over lacerations on her nose and chin.
He wrapped a bandage around her head and, just before 1.30am, messaged his girlfriend Natalie Jensen, saying: "I think I might of went too far".
Jensen phoned police about 12.15pm on February 10, lying and saying she'd just arrived at the house before performing CPR on Ms Huata.
Justice Richard Niall described the attack on the vulnerable mother as "protracted, extremely violent and unremitting" in his sentencing remarks on Monday.
"The extent of the injuries reveals the shocking brutality of your conduct," he said.
The 41-year-old suffered from a degenerative condition that caused weakness and muscle wasting which limited her mobility and needed the help of a care worker, the judge said.
Ms Huata had been stripped naked and was declared dead at the scene with authorities finding 29 separate rib fractures, burst eardrums, a laceration to her liver and a brain injury among other injuries.
The court heard of Minhinnick's "deprived" upbringing, marked by considerable trauma and neglect living in a violent household.
Justice Niall said the result of his troubled childhood, including bouts of homelessness, played a role in his inability to control his anger and him experiencing symptoms of PTSD.
"Disorder has been a feature of your life," the judge said.
He noted the immense and devastating loss the family has endured by the death of Ms Huata which extended to family in New Zealand.
"The loss of a mother, sister and daughter, especially in such violent circumstances, cannot adequately be described," he said.
Minhinnick shook in the Supreme Court stand and stared towards the floor as the judge summarised the case, signalling a long term of imprisonment was inevitable.
"The sentence I must impose on you as a young man will mean that a very large proportion of your 20s and 30s will be spent in prison," the judge said.
Minhinnick will be eligible for parole once he has served at least 15 years of his sentence.
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Australian Associated Press
