A late confession, inconclusive DNA evidence and a quashed conviction will set a man free more than 10 years after being found guilty of murder.
Dressed in a white shirt and blue suit, Wassim Tiriaki smiled and waved to members of his family in the public gallery as he waited to be sentenced for the second time for the murder of Matthew Hedges.
In 2014, Tiriaki was convicted of murdering Mr Hedges during a 2011 robbery at Chester Hill in Sydney's west, when the victim was shot in the chest at close range through the window of his home during a "joint criminal enterprise" to kidnap and assault the home's occupants.
Tiriaki was then sentenced to 28 years in jail, two decades of which were without parole.
Salim Tabbah, his co-accused, was at the time sentenced to 14 years in jail, 10 without parole, for manslaughter over his role in Mr Hedge's death despite the Crown's case against both being described as "circumstantial" in relation to the DNA evidence that linked both to the crime.
Two years after their trials, Tabbah admitted to firing the revolver that killed Mr Hedges in 2016, with three further admissions and a 2021 affidavit forming the core of Tiriaki's conviction being quashed that year.
By then, Tiriaki had served nearly half of his non-parole period.
After being arraigned for murder for the second time earlier this year, he pleaded guilty despite his co-accused's conviction and sentencing for manslaughter being unaltered.
Justice Stephen Rothman sentenced Tiriaki on Friday to 11 years and eight months in prison. Given time already served, he will be eligible for parole on February 5, 2024.
In the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Rothman placed emphasis on the "special circumstances" which reduced the sentence: Tiriaki's guilty plea, emphasis on his strong likelihood of rehabilitation and reform, and what the judge termed the "immaturity" of the offender, who was 21 years old at the time of the murder.
His full sentence runs to December 5, 2029.
As he left the dock, Tiriaki smiled again and gave a thumbs up to his family.
