A man guilty of murdering and beheading his West Ulverstone housemate has been sentenced to 23 years' jail.
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Darren Ward Gale, 54, was found guilty of killing his housemate Noel Joseph Ingham, 57, by a Burnie Supreme Court jury in June.
Gale will not be eligible for parole until he has served a minimum of 14 years' jail, backdated to when he was arrested on November 30, 2016.
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Justice Helen Wood said Mr Ingham's death was a vicious and senseless killing.
"The defendant [killed a] physically vulnerable man in his own home who had taken the defendant in as a tenant and trusted him," Justice Wood said.
"The defendant has not shown remorse at any stage."
Justice Wood said Gale held an attitude of animosity towards Mr Ingham which stemmed from his greed and a misplaced sense of entitlement.
She said Gale sought to exploit Mr Ingham by becoming his carer, for which he would receive a carer's benefit.
"While he had physical frailties ... Mr Ingham did not need a carer," she said.
Justice Wood said Mr Ingham died as the result of a one-sided physical altercation between the two men, throughout which Gale maintained the upper hand.
"The defendant intended to cause physical harm he knew was likely to cause death," she said.
Gale muttered "that's bulls---" as Justice Wood told the court Gale had delivered a decisive blow or number of blows to Mr Ingham, who was of no physical threat to Gale.
"The defendant may have used a weapon, but I am not able to make definitive finding about whether a weapon was involved," Justice Wood said.
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The court heard Mr Ingham's two daughters had been profoundly impacted by his death.
"The terrible details of what happened to his body after his death has compounded their trauma," Justice Wood said.
"The post-offence conduct including the callous treatment of Mr Ingham's body is a significant aggravating factor.
"These acts speak of a desire to conceal lethal violence."
Justice Wood said the "brutal circumstances of the murder" meant Gale was not suitable for a shorter minimum parole.
Carer turned killer
Mr Ingham first met his murderer at the Burnie Lodge in mid-2014.
Mr Ingham had a number of serious health issues and his friend Gale, after completing an eight week carer's course, moved into his West Ulverstone home to be his live-in carer in July 2016.
Just two weeks later, Gale had murdered Mr Ingham and started a three year series of lies about what had happened to his housemate.
Over seven weeks, a jury heard evidence from more than 60 witnesses before taking less than four hours to find Gale guilty of Mr Ingham's murder.
In the sixth week of the trial, Gale took the stand and told the court Mr Ingham had accidentally died after collapsing on a fish tank in their shared unit.
Fearing he would be blamed for Mr Ingham's death, Gale said he beheaded his roommate, dropping his head in the Mersey River, and buried the rest of his body in bushland at Dulverton.
He said Mr Ingham's death occurred after the two men had a drunken argument involving an axe handle in which Mr Ingham received a minor head injury.
"I decided to cut his head off, because he had two wounds and I knew if police saw the wounds they would assume he was killed," Gale said.
"I thought they wouldn't know who he was without a head.
"Once I had started doing what I done it was like a big snowball. It got bigger and bigger and worse and worse and I didn't know how to stop it."
Gale also admitted to killing Mr Ingham's dogs, burning his car and lying to police, neighbours and friends about Mr Ingham's whereabouts following his disappearance.
Gale maintains Mr Ingham's death was accidental.
Throughout the trial, Gale's defence lawyer Greg Richardson did not deny Gale had lied continuously during the police investigation or that he decapitated Mr Ingham and killed his dogs.
"You will not hear me challenge one word of evidence," Mr Richardson said.
Crown prosecutor Jackie Hartnett said the lengths to which Gale went to in trying to cover up Mr Ingham's murder were not actions of an innocent man scared of being wrongfully accused.
"It was a callous act and a total disrespect of the deceased," Ms Hartnett said.
"It is a serious example of murder as it occurred in the deceased's own home and was a consequence of a breach of trust."
Ms Hartnett said Gale was able to manipulate people, adapt his story and appear concerned for Mr Ingham.
"He has told a constellation of lies to all manner of people," Ms Hartnett said.
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