A Canberra man who fatally bashed his stepfather in Wanniassa and fled with $53,000 cash has been jailed for more than 13 years.
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An ACT Supreme Court judge found Jeffrey David Lee hadn't meant to kill Neal Keith Wilkinson, 61, when "an unintended argument quickly escalated into a serious assault" on March 10 last year.
Police found Mr Wilkinson's body face down near the front door of the McWhae Circuit house and arrested Lee, 47, the next day.
The pair got into an argument and fought when Lee had showed up at the home his frail and ill mother, Maureen Lee, shared with Mr Wilkinson.
Lee dealt several blows to Mr Wilkinson's left cheek, causing him to fall to the ground with serious facial fractures, before he fled.
He returned a couple of hours later and his mother awoke to find him sitting on the side of her bed.
Lee made her a cup of tea and grilled a hot cross bun, growing agitated and upset as he told her: "Neal's dead, I killed him.
"I lost my temper and punched him, but he was still breathing."
His mother said she wanted to phone police but Lee disconnected the phone and said she wasn't allowed to ring anybody for 15 minutes.
Lee then stole the cash, which was stuffed in a pillowcase, and left.
His mother struggled from her bedroom and saw Mr Wilkinson lying in the entry hall. A neighbour heard her cries for help and called police.
In an interview soon after his arrest, Lee told police he had gone to the house intent on forcing his way inside and got mad.
"It got out of hand quickly," he said.
"It's actually a relief to be caught. I just ran and ran after it happened, I didn't know what to do."
He told police he had taken ice and heroin in the two days before the killing. He was charged and later pleaded guilty to murder and theft.
Chief Justice Helen Murrell on Thursday sentenced Lee to a maximum 12 years imprisonment for the killing and two years and six months' jail for stealing the cash.
She described the fatal bashing as objectively less serious than most murders.
Chief Justice Murrell took into account Mr Wilkinson had been murdered in his own home, but said the fatal attack was not premeditated.
An autopsy report stated Mr Wilkinson's head injuries were less severe than typical fatal head injuries and there may have been another contributing factor.
"The accused intended to cause serious harm, he did not intend to cause death and was not recklessly indifferent to that prospect."
She described the theft of the couple's savings as "callous in the extreme" and said the serious crime was a breach of trust.
Lee, a former public servant and business owner, had started using drugs when his marriage broke down a decade ago and was socially isolated and struggling financially due to a gambling habit in the months before the killing.
His escalating use of illicit substances and increasingly chaotic lifestyle caused his relationships with his children to deteriorate dramatically and contact with them had been infrequent and strained in recent years.
Chief Justice Murrell noted the emotional impact of the offences on Lee's mother, who had not been in contact with him since the murder, would have been profound.
"In addition to losing her life partner, with the loss of the deceased she must have lost the capacity to live with relative independence."
She noted Lee had expressed immediate remorse, accepted responsibility for his actions and had good prospects for rehabilitation.
Lee did not react as his sentence was handed down.
He will be eligible for parole in March 2022.
