A man who donned a balaclava and stormed a man's Adelaide CBD unit, stabbing him within nine seconds, will spend 20 years behind bars.
Dylan John Kovarskis pleaded guilty to murdering 46-year-old Nathan Russell at his Sturt Street unit on January 26, 2021.
During sentencing, Supreme Court Justice Anne Bampton said Kovarskis did not intend to kill Mr Russell but he did intend to cause grievous bodily harm and she was not satisfied there were special circumstances to give the 26-year-old a lighter sentence.
"You were intoxicated and acting in a heightened state of arousal and emotion," she said.
"Your text messages in the lead-up to your attendance at Sturt Street are characterised by angry messages and by a contemplation that someone would be killed and that you would be severely punished.
"You made a decision to go to the unit, you armed yourself, you donned a balaclava, and you wore a T-shirt with an outlaw motorcycle gang insignia.
"You broke into the downstairs foyer and affectively stormed Mr Russell's unit, inflicting two stab wounds quickly and spontaneously."
Justice Bampton said Mr Russell was asleep in the lounge room when Kovarskis broke in, armed with a knife and with a pole stowed outside.
The two men had only met weeks earlier.
A friend of Mr Russell's found his body on the couch, wrapped in a blood-soaked blanket the next day.
'Tragic impact' on both men's families
Kovarskis was "grossly intoxicated" at the time with cannabis, cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.
Justice Bampton said he had been awake for three days, his judgement "would have been impaired" and he was suffering from a degree of paranoia.
But she accepted Kovarskis was genuinely remorseful and understood the "tragic impact" of his actions on Mr Russell's family and his own.
Kovarskis was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years, backdated to January 2021, when he was arrested and remanded in custody.
Justice Bampton said it would have been 22 years if not for his guilty plea.
Kovarskis's mother cried loudly when her only child was sentenced.
Victim's sister acknowledges murderer's family's pain
Outside court, Mr Russell's sister, Belinda Russell, said it was just over two years ago that she received the "heartbreaking" news and thanked "the diligence of Major Crime" for catching the responsible person.
"This is a situation no family ever wants to be put in," she said.
"We wish to extend our empathy to the Kovarskis family and acknowledge the pain they are also suffering at this time.
"We think of you often and wish things were different for both of our families."
Ms Russell also thanked the prosecutors and Victims Support liaison officer Debbie Gibson.
"Debbie is the most kind, caring and professional person and she has helped us considerably as we have navigated the horrible situation we were thrown into," she said.
Kovarskis's lawyer, Nick Vadasz, said his client's family was also "distraught".
"It's a tragedy for everybody," he said outside court.
