Giuseppe Di Cianni will be a "frail old man" in his 90s when he's eligible to get out of jail - if he lives that long.
The 66-year-old double murderer gripped the rail of the dock in the Supreme Court in Sydney on Friday as he was sentenced to at least 30 years' imprisonment for the cold-blooded stabbing murders of brothers Albert Frisoli and Mario Frisoli at Rozelle in May 2009.
Then he nodded his head, seemingly resigned to the fact he will most likely live out the rest of his days in prison.
For Mario Frisoli's relatives in particular, it was difficult to comprehend how a man their father had never met could do such a thing.
Mario Frisoli was Di Cianni's first victim - stabbed repeatedly after Di Cianni disguised himself as an old lady and entered the home the brothers shared on the evening of May 6.
Di Cianni's main target was Albert Frisoli, a former business associate with whom he had become embroiled in a number of bitter and increasingly violent disputes.
After Di Cianni was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2000, their work relationship began to sour and eventually, Di Cianni accused Albert Frisoli of forging his signature.
Di Cianni took criminal and civil proceedings against Albert Frisoli who in turn took out a series of apprehended violence orders against Di Cianni.
Weeks before the murders, Di Cianni's court case against Mr Frisoli collapsed, leaving him with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees.
This was "the straw that broke the camel's back", Acting Justice Hulme said.
The judge found there was "an appreciable degree of preparation and planning" in the murders.
Finding Mario Frisoli alone in the house, Di Cianni stabbed him repeatedly including in the neck - leaving 35 injuries.
He then moved the body out of sight of the front door and lay in wait for Albert Frisoli to come home, before stabbing him repeatedly and fleeing the scene.
Acting Justice Hulme said the murders were "frenzied" and Di Cianni's victims must have suffered "substantial trauma".
"Mr Di Cianni allowed his dispute with Albert Frisoli to cloud his judgment," the judge said, noting Di Cianni was generally of good character prior to the murders.
"He had so little regard for human life that Mario was killed simply to facilitate or at least remove any impediment to killing Albert Frisoli."
After leaving bloody footprints some distance through Rozelle, Di Cianni was picked up by his then lover, Josephine Pintabona.
The pair fled to Italy a few days later without Di Cianni's wife's knowledge.
Pintabona later gave a false alibi to police.
Her explanations - that DNA in her car consistent with the Frisolis was from a rump steak, and that she had picked up a jar of home-made pasta sauce from Di Cianni on the evening of the murders - was rejected by the jury earlier this year.
Sentencing her to at least three years' jail, Acting Justice Hulme said she "consciously decided to help a double murderer".
Taking into account time served, she will be eligible for parole in March 2016, while Di Cianni will be eligible in August 2040.
