Samuel Berron handed good behaviour order for striking corpse of Nathan Mugridge

Through tears, the woman spoke directly to Samuel Angus Berron, 24, during his ACT Magistrates Court sentencing on Wednesday.

"My heart and soul are destroyed," she said.

"I will never forgive you."

Berron formally entered guilty pleas on Wednesday to charges of indecently interfering with a dead human body and to common assault.

The incident took place on May 20, 2022, about 5.20pm after Berron and Nathan Mugridge crashed the offender's blue Subaru WRX while travelling south on Kingsford Smith Drive, Melba.

Mr Mugridge lost control of the vehicle, which crossed a grassed median strip and northbound lanes, before colliding with a light pole on the opposite side of the road, instantly killing the driver.

Magistrate Glenn Theakston said Berron was "lucky to walk away from the wreck alive", which only caused him minor, non-life threatening injuries.

After exiting the vehicle, Berron "appeared to become very aggressive and commenced shouting angrily at the deceased", before kicking the car.

The offender then climbed back into the passenger seat and began striking the deceased man in the chest and shoulder area while saying words to effect of "you better be dead" and "who's gonna pay for my car".

Berron continued kicking the car, causing the front bumper to fall off, before the man pulled back the vehicle's shattered front windscreen and struck Mr Mugridge in the chest again.

He then turned towards a bystander who was attempting to calm him down and said words to the effect of: "I'll kill you, you c---, I've been to jail before and I don't give a shit".

In a police interview following the incident, Berron told police he did not remember striking the deceased man.

Mr Mugridge's mother took to the stand on Wednesday to detail the emotional burden the death of her "best friend" and the following offence had on her.

"Samuel, you dishonoured and disgraced my son in the worst possible way," the woman said.

"You got angry because of the collision and you took your anger out on my child.

"That's not what friends do."

MORE COURT AND CRIME NEWS:

While Berron sat at the bar table with his head down, the victim's mother said she spent every day at the cemetery, "so I can be close to my son".

"My son deserved dignity and respect and yet you took it upon yourself to show the complete opposite," she said.

Mr Theakston said Berron was not being charged with or responsible for the "unfortunate and tragic death" of his friend, but admitted the man's actions made the death harder.

"He is responsible for his actions after the death only," he said.

The magistrate said attributing the death of the victim to the offender was "terribly unfair".

"The offending is less serious than some people in the room might think but it doesn't mean that it should just be automatically dismissed," he said.

Mr Theakston also noted Berron had suffered "significant social consequences as a result of his involvement in this matter".

Defence lawyer Adrian McKenna said his client had been exposed to "a good deal of threat and abuse through social media".

The court heard the offender had on one occasion been beaten and hospitalised.

The lawyer said his client, who felt remorse, shame and embarrassment, had acted in a "heightened state".

"People react differently to tragedies, sudden accidents and grief," he said.

Mr Theakston denied an application that could have seen the charges dismissed and sent to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal based on Berron being mentally impaired during the offending.

The magistrate agreed the man was impaired by generalised anxiety behaviour among other things but he did not believe the tribunal would elect to impose a psychiatric treatment order.

Berron was handed a 12-month good behaviour order and ordered to pay a $2000 fine.

Other charges against him, including offensive behaviour in a public place and reckless threat to kill, were dropped.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: