The man who murdered Ballarat bus driver Tamara Farrell, drove her body across the state and set her alight has been sentenced to 27 years imprisonment.
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Shaye Kotiau, 23, was sentenced at the Supreme Court in Melbourne on Thursday morning for murdering the 32-year-old in her Canadian home on February 17, 2019.
Justice Paul Coghlan said Ms Farrell's death was 'senseless' and 'pointless' and the suffering of her family and friends was 'greatly increased' by the 'close relationship between the two families'.
The Kotiau and Farrell children had grown up together and considered themselves like cousins, as their mothers had been close friends since childhood.
Justice Coghlan said Kotiau's attack on Ms Farrell was 'severe' and 'brutal' and he was satisfied the destruction of her body was designed to conceal the nature of offending.
He said he regarded Ms Farrell's murder as a high level offence due to aggravating features.
"This was a murder of a young women in her own home where she was entitled to feel safe. Connected to that is the very close relationship that existed," Justice Coghlan said.
"It appears she was naked and vulnerable at the time of the attack."
Justice Coghlan also referred to the involvement of Kotiau's younger sister Kieahn in assisting to dispose of Ms Farrell's body and concealing evidence as an aggravating feature.
"This is something for which she will have to take responsibility for the rest of her life because of your conduct," he said.
Watch Justice Paul Coghlan deliver his sentencing remarks below.
Kotiau pleaded guilty to murder in May, 2020, after initially entering a plea of not guilty in a Ballarat court, but claimed he had no memory of killing Ms Farrell and was 'very drunk' on the night.
Justice Coghlan said he questioned whether this was true, given Kotiau burnt Ms Farrell's body, told his girlfriend the killing was 'brutal' and was 'like a dream'.
However, Justice Coghlan said he was not satisfied beyond reasonable doubt Kotiau was deliberately feigning his lack of recollection, so this could not affect sentencing.
"The complete lack of explanation for this offending is a matter of great distress for Ms Farrell's family," he said.
Kotiau, who was 22 at the time, and his sister Kieahn, who was 19, spent about six hours with Ms Farrell and her housemate at her Canadian home drinking and playing games on February 16, 2019.
Everyone went to bed around 6am and while others were sleeping Kotiau went into Ms Farrell's room and murdered her.
Kotiau showed Kieahn Ms Farrell's naked body lying on her bathroom floor on Sunday afternoon and she noticed one side of her face was dark like it was bruised.
Kotiau put Ms Farrell's body in the boot of Kieahn's car and ordered his sister to drive so he could find a 'perfect place' to dispose of her body.
The siblings drove to Nambrok, near Sale, where Kotiau placed Ms Farrell's body in a small clearing between trees, used a chisel and hammer to remove her upper teeth and upper mandible, poured petrol over her body and set her alight.
An autopsy revealed evidence of blunt force trauma to the head and the cause of death was determined to be a head injury.
It was impossible to ascertain if any sexual assault had occurred due to the burning of Ms Farrell's body.
Justice Coghlan said he had regard to Kotiau's young age and his disadvantaged childhood which involved family violence in determining a sentence.
Kotiau was sentenced to 27 years imprisonment with a 22 year non-parole period.
This is higher than the standard sentence for murder, which is 25 years imprisonment.
Justice Coghlan said Kotiau would have been sentenced to 32 years imprisonment with a 27 year non-parole period if not for his plea of guilty.
Kotiau has served 507 days in pre-sentence detention.