A man who bashed his mate with a concrete block and left him to die at a remote southern NSW property has been sentenced to just over 20 years in jail.
Tyrone Earl Martin struck and killed Jeffrey Hindle in the early hours of September 6, 2012, at Mr Hindle's property at Braidwood, south of Nowra.
Martin had claimed he struck out with the 7kg block in self-defence after he woke to find Mr Hindle threatening him with a shotgun.
But Justice Monika Schmidt dismissed that possibility in the Supreme Court, saying Martin's version of events had been "inconsistent and contradictory".
"It cannot be concluded that Mr Hindle threatened Mr Martin with a shotgun," she said on Thursday as she handed down a maximum sentence of 27 years in jail with a non-parole period of 20 years and three months.
The court heard the two friends had been drinking at the property when they got into a fight in which Martin struck his heavily intoxicated friend at least twice with the concrete block, fracturing his skull.
He left Mr Hindle bleeding on the ground and exposed to the elements. He drove home before calling police some 40 minutes later.
The court heard he believed his friend was knocked out and it wasn't until later than he began to consider the possibility that he had killed him.
But Justice Schmidt said Martin had taken several steps "consistent with knowing he had fatally injured Mr Hindle", such as taking the time to fill his car with petrol before leaving the property.
By leaving his friend bleeding and uncovered "on a dark, cold and windy night", Martin had significant moral culpability, she said.
"Mr Hindle suffered an awful, painful, lonely death," she said.
Speaking outside the court, Mr Hindle's brother Terry said the family was satisfied with the judgment, which makes Martin ineligible for parole until September 2032.
Terry described his brother as a jovial family man with a strong group of friends.
"This should never have happened."
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