Peter and Alex Costa speak about the impact their respective brother and uncle's death has had

But few times are worse for a Napoleons family than Christmas.

“That laughter is gone, that joy is gone,” Peter Costa says when remembering his brother Paul who was tragically murdered 18 months ago.

“All Paul wanted was to be a parent – that's been taken away from him.”

For the past 30 years, Peter and Paul, along with Peter’s son Alex, had worked side by side on their family’s Christmas tree farm at Napoleons. 

Alex says his uncle’s death has had a tremendous effect on him and his family. 

“We'd always done this (worked at the Christmas tree farm) together, ever since I was a kid,” he said.

“We always got along great, he taught me how to load a truck with my dad, we used to have a laugh together. You come out here now and it's not the same.”

On July 2 last year, Paul Costa became an innocent victim of a botched carjacking at the hands of five youths Melbourne.

The boys were after his four-wheel drive to use as a getaway car in a supermarket robbery.

They tried to remove him from the car, but Paul fought back, with the boys eventually restraining him in the back seat with handcuffs.

But during the assault, the youngest of the group –  a 16-year-old boy – stabbed the father-of-four with a small kitchen knife, the blade entering through the right of Mr Costa's neck and emerging from the left.

Four of the assailants later pleaded guilty to aggravated carjacking, while the killer pleaded not guilty to murder. A jury convicted him in September.

On Tuesday, the boy – who cannot be named due to his age – was jailed by the Supreme Court for 18 years.

“This is a tragic and pointless loss of life caused by you,” the sentencing judge said.

While Peter and Alex were happy with the conviction, they could not shake a feeling of injustice over the loss of their beloved brother and uncle.

“I'm glad he got 18 years – I thought he'd get less,” Peter said.

“I'm a bit disappointed though, what happened to the 25-year (sentence) for murder? For cold-blooded murder? I don't think his age should be a factor at all. He's not stealing a packet of lollies from the milk bar – he's committed murder.”

Alex shared his father’s sentiments.

“What's done is done, 18 years isn't enough,” he said. 

“It doesn't bring back my uncle, it's a sad thing. If you want to (carry a knife) and act like a big boy and do big boy sh*t, you should get big boy time.”

Paul’s death has had a resounding effect on his parents, who have shied away from holiday celebrations over the past year.

“We always used to celebrate, but it's really affected mum and dad, they don't want to celebrate anymore – any of the holidays. It's really taken a toll on them,” Peter said.

Alex says it hurts to see his grandmother cry when he comes to visit her in the morning.

“I go over to see her after going to the market to have a coffee and she's crying because I'm walking in without Paul,” he said.

Paul’s father Alessandro Costa spoke outside of court following the boy’s conviction, saying he was relieved the ordeal may finally be coming to an end.

"You could not hope for a better son," he said through tears.

Alex doesn’t know if he will ever be able to move past the loss of his uncle.

“There's a little bit of relief now it's over but still, he got 18 years, my uncle got a life sentence.

“It doesn't matter, this kid could do 40 or 50 years, he gets to come out, he gets to see his family. If we want to see my uncle we have to go to the cemetery.

“This guy gets the right to talk to his parents, (Peter) doesn't get the right to talk to his brother no more, my grandparents don't get to see their son. They have to talk to him through prayer.”

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