A university student who murdered a man sleeping rough at Fremantle's E-Shed Markets will spend at least 16 years behind bars.
Peter Fox-Slater pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court of Western Australia to murdering James Tony Hyman, 37, in October.
The court heard on Thursday that the fatal attack was a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Fox-Slater, then aged 19 and a first-year journalism student at Notre Dame University went to the market to get revenge on someone with whom he had earlier had a verbal and physical altercation.
During the fight, the other man got the upper hand and Fox-Slater was knocked to the ground, grazing his chin.
While they shook hands before separating, Fox-Slater was still angry so went back to his accommodation at the university and collected two knives.
When he arrived at the market, he saw the brother of the man he'd fought walking away and mistakenly stabbed Mr Hyman, who was sleeping in the dark wrapped in a blanket.
Fox-Slater then smoked cannabis with his friends, who had tried to dissuade him from the attack, and offered to pay people to dispose of the knife.
Justice Andrew Beech said it was hard to imagine someone more vulnerable than Mr Hyman.
"This was not a single moment of madness," Justice Beech said during sentencing.
"There was an element of premeditation in what you did."
Justice Beech said he accepted that Fox-Slater didn't mean to kill an innocent person, but it was gravely disturbing how he had sought to avenge himself with the other man.
"You had your ego bruised," he said.
The court heard Fox-Slater had a very good upbringing but started using and dealing methamphetamine after leaving boarding school, although he was not affected by the drug at the time of the murder.
He had drunk many pints of beer, however, and said he could not remember the stabbing.
Justice Beech said it appeared Fox-Slater had not adjusted well to independent life after the structure of boarding school.
"Many offenders who appear in this court had very deprived backgrounds. That is not the case with you," he said.
Justice Beech said the victim's family had a sense of disbelief about what had occurred, and struggled with the "totally senseless and needless" circumstances in which Mr Hyman died.
"Part of their life is missing," he said.
Mr Hyman's younger brother Peter said he was a free spirit who was not homeless, as had been reported.
Rather, he had couch-hopped and slept rough at times.
He said the family believed the sentence was not harsh enough, given the level of premeditation, and would appeal to the attorney-general.
Fox-Slater was sentenced to life imprisonment and will not be eligible for parole until he has served 16 years.
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