A South Australian man has been jailed for at least five years and nine months for killing his best friend during a drunken fight at a remote camping site.
Supreme Court Justice Kevin Nicholson sentenced Matthew James Loleit, 41, to seven years and two months' jail for the manslaughter of his friend Rory "Meggs" Elliot.
The 49-year-old victim had an internal cyst on his spleen which ruptured after Loleit fell on him when the pair got into a drunken fight.
The friends were camping at Telowie Beach, in South Australia's Mid-North in February 2018, when the offence occurred.
Justice Nicholson said it was a "sustained assault" which had caused "untold grief" to the victim's family.
During sentencing, Justice Nicholson said the incident was a "serious example of an offence of manslaughter".
"This was a sustained assault and you took the life of a young man causing untold grief," he said.
Loleit appeared to cry, at times, as his sentence was being handed down.
He also apologised to Mr Elliot's family throughout the hearing.
"I am satisfied that your distress and contrition are genuine," Justice Nicholson said.
However, he pointed out that Mr Elliot's family did not believe the apology was genuine.
The victim's family do not accept an apology
"The family does not accept the apology and do not see you as genuine or upset," Justice Nicholson said.
Loleit will be eligible for parole in five years and nine months.
In August, the court was told Loleit and Mr Elliot were best friends with a history of "heated banter".
"They were very good friends who got drunk together on many occasions, who entered into argy-bargy," Loleit's lawyer Paul Charman said.
"This was not an isolated incident of arguing and pushing and shoving. For some reason on this night, it went well beyond that."
