Two men who murdered a Queensland man and dumped his mutilated body in bushland on the NSW mid-north coast have been sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Tyron Beauchamp's remains were found by a NSW Rural Fire Service crew that extinguished a small blaze in the Yarratt State Forest two days after Christmas in 2018.
The 41-year-old's skull had been fractured during a beating before he was taken to a dirt cul-de-sac.
Darcy Dufty and Andrue Tisdell were among five men arrested across Taree over the murder last May and later pleaded guilty.
Justice Richard Cavanagh today sentenced both men to 17 years and three months in prison, with a non-parole period of 12 years.
The NSW Supreme Court heard Beauchamp had struggled with drug addiction and was staying in a shed after being released from prison in November 2018.
Dufty and Tisdell were affected by "a significant cocktail of drugs and alcohol" consumed on Christmas Eve — including ice and marijuana — when Dufty formed the view Beauchamp had been "disrespecting him".
Justice Cavanagh said the two went to find Beauchamp on Christmas Day and were "pumping each other up" in the car, having agreed to "give him a hiding" before "moving him on".
"In their drug-induced and alcoholic state, the offenders set upon Mr Beauchamp whilst he lay in a bed, unprotected and defenceless," he said.
Beauchamp yelled "don't" and "stop" as he was beaten to the head with a metal bar by Tisdell and punched and kicked by Dufty.
The judge said the victim must have been terrified as he was wrapped in a doona, put in the boot of a car and driven to the forest.
The following day, Dufty and Tisdell returned to cut off Beauchamp's hands and mutilate his body.
Justice Cavanagh found the pair did not intend to kill Beauchamp, but did intend to inflict grievous bodily harm which led to his death.
Their drug-induced state did not lessen the seriousness of the crime nor their moral culpability, Justice Cavanagh said.
But the judge also acknowledged both defendants came from a background of disadvantage, including drug use from an early age and exposure to domestic violence.
After the judge adjourned the court, Dufty and Tisdell gave each other a thumbs-up on their respective video links from jail.
In June, another man linked to Beauchamp's death was sentenced to a minimum of 12 months in prison after admitting to hindering a police investigation.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, burned a bag of clothes connected to the murder.
Dufty and Tisdell will both be eligible for parole in May 2031.
