The family of a Victorian grandfather fatally bashed on Christmas Day say the world is less colourful without him, and they have been robbed of the best man in their lives.
Anthony Clark, 50, died in hospital three days after he was struck with a baseball bat by a man outside his home in Melbourne's northeast before his head was repeatedly stomped on and kicked by a then 16-year-old.
The teenager, who cannot be legally named, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the Victorian Supreme Court over his role in the 2019 brawl that led to Mr Clark's death.
The fight started after an argument over some illegal fireworks outside Mr Clark's Mooroolbark home.
A group of young men came to his home to confront his relative, leading Mr Clark to retrieve the bat and order them to leave his property.
The man who hit Mr Clark with the bat was found not guilty of manslaughter earlier this month.
Mr Clark's daughter Ellen Moxon reflected her father was excited for what 2020 would bring but he missed it by four days.
His last meal was Christmas lunch, and she and her sister caught it in their hands when he later vomited it up in hospital.
He was a proud man who was deeply sentimental, and would tell her he loved her "more than water, because how could you live without water", she said.
"I had to kiss my father on the right side of his unrecognisable face as I whispered goodbye for the last time," Ms Moxon told the court on Friday.
"My dad died this way but he didn't live like this. He was amazing and the world is less colourful without him."
Ms Moxon gave birth to her first child nine months after Mr Clark was killed, and had to get staff to turn down the volume of the hospital machines so she didn't have to relive the trauma of her father's death.
When Ms Moxon's daughter took her first steps, she hoped Mr Clark walked with her in spirit, she said.
Emma Moxon, another of Mr Clark's daughters, reflected their father taught them everything they knew, and made them realise what they were capable of.
He was the embodiment of good character, she said, opening doors for strangers, barracking for the underdog, reading and remembering people's name tags, and being genuine when he wished others a wonderful day.
Ms Moxon gave her father a wallet at Christmas, not knowing what gravity the words engraved on it would hold days later: "Looking up to you is easy. Filling your shoes is harder. You are the greatest man I know. Love you to the moon and back."
She hoped the teenager, if he ever had children, would understand what he took away from her father and family.
"I don't hate him ... but I can and never will forgive him for killing my dad," Ms Moxon.
The plea hearing continues.
