The family of Hasan Dastan finally have justice after almost three decades, with his killer sentenced to a maximum of 22 years behind bars.
Kubilay Kilincer appeared in prison greens in the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday to learn his fate, more than 10 weeks after a jury found him guilty of killing Mr Dastan, who was his boss at a western Sydney car wrecking business.
The jury found the now 60-year-old violently bashed Mr Dastan in his Esy Auto Dismantlers business on the morning of December 11, 1995.
Justice Helen Wilson described Kilincer's crime as "a most serious instance of murder".
"The attack was likely a spontaneous one, but its spontaneity does not detract from its extreme brutality," the judge said.
"The offender struck Mr Dastan repeatedly to the head and body causing severe injuries and massive blood loss leading to death."
Mr Dastan was found dead in a pool of blood lying partially under a car within the Blacktown premises.
A metal pipe was shoved six centimetres into his mouth and his injuries were consistent with attacks from multiple weapons, including a ball joint remover, sledgehammer and a heavy car part.
While Kilincer has consistently denied any involvement in the death, the judge rejected his claims he was elsewhere at the time of the murder.
"The offender's evidence was for the most part patently false," she said.
Not only did he alter the crime scene in an attempt to throw police off his trail, but he later tried to interfere with the evidence witnesses gave of what had happened.
In 1995, Kilincer's financial situation was "parlous", Justice Wilson said, with the mechanic going deep into debt as a result of his gambling habits.
Borrowing money which he often didn't pay back, he also took to stealing cash from the till at Esy Auto Dismantlers.
On December 8, 1995, Kilincer pocketed $1000 given to him by a customer for repairs of a Ford Focus. Mr Dastan found out, demanding the repayment of the cash and telling others he was about to fire his dishonest employee.
Being informed of this in the morning of December 11, Kilincer lost control, killing his boss in a "most brutal and pitiless manner", Justice Wilson said.
"The violence of the crime was extreme and the injuries inflicted on Mr Dastan horrifying. The gesture of ramming a pipe into Mr Dastan's mouth was one redolent of contempt."
Clearly conscious for at least part of the attack, Mr Dastan would have first felt dismay that his employee was attacking him. That dismay would have then turned to fear and pain, the judge said.
In a despicable, opportunistic act, Kilincer then pilfered money from Mr Dastan's wallet, removing it from the pocket of his dead or dying employer, and also raided the cash register. Mr Dastan's wife, Sultan, estimated her husband had about $4500 on him that day.
The judge acknowledged the harm the murder had done to the community, especially Mr Dastan's family.
"To lose a loved one in circumstances that were both horrific and, for over 20 years, completely unexplained was plainly devastating for the whole Dastan family," she said.
"Mrs Dastan lost her husband. Three children lost their father. A new generation lost their grandfather. Those losses are very great indeed."
Kilincer has told a psychologist he plans to appeal his conviction, with the judge noting he had displayed no remorse.
"The offender's only concern has been and is for himself," she said.
Outside court, Mr Dastan's daughter Yasemin Sevim called the outcome bittersweet, saying they had wanted life imprisonment.
She expressed gratitude towards NSW Police and the prosecution's legal team.
With a non-parole period of 16 years and six months, Kilincer could be free after October 19, 2038.
His maximum prison time will expire on April 19, 2044.
