Eviction killer filmed digging graves for his victim

After he killed Brendon Farrell during a violent eviction attempt, Terrence Tiumalu was filmed digging multiple graves for his victim.

Tiumalu was jailed for a minimum of five years on Tuesday after pleading guilty to the manslaughter of Mr Farrell in May 2021.

He had been asked by his friend Richard Jackson, who was Mr Farrell's housemate, to evict him from a bungalow he was living in.

Tiumalu agreed and in late May went to Mr Farrell's home. In a spontaneous assault, he slapped Mr Farrell's face, grabbed him by the scruff of his shirt, pulled him down, and punched him twice to the head and face.

He carried Mr Farrell to his car and drove away. For several days he left Mr Farrell's body in his car. 

His cause of death was unable to be determined, but Victorian Supreme Court Justice John Champion said it was clear he remained alive for an unknown period after the assault.

At some point in the following days Tiumalu contacted a friend and said "I've still got him". Days later again he said "the dude has gone".

The court heard Tiumalu had a fear of being disowned by his family and of going to jail, which Justice Champion said informed his conduct and decision-making in the period.

On July 8, 2021 monitored phone calls revealed Tiumalu telling another person that something he had done had come on the news and if he got caught it might be serious.

Police searched his home a day later and found blood-stained boots and a shovel. Videos on a seized mobile phone showed him digging a grave in the backyard of a Noble Park property between June 5 and 15.

Officers went to that property and found Mr Farrell's remains wrapped in a blue carpet inside a canoe, which was covered with a tarpaulin.

Mr Farrell's mother told the court she found it hard to understand why her son was not treated with dignity and respect, even in death.

Tiumalu experienced social isolation, paranoia, a lifelong erratic mental state and a profoundly unstable sense of self, the court heard.

An expert described him as having difficulty controlling his anger, leading to physical altercations.

It was suggested that Tiumalu had felt unsafe and threatened by the victim, but Justice Champion said that was hard to accept given he had taken another man with him to evict Mr Farrell, and they had outnumbered him.

His actions in not seeking help for Mr Farrell after he had been assaulted was reprehensible and deserved condemnation, he said.

Tiumalu showed an initial absence of remorse, insight, empathy and basic humanity, the judge said. While he did later show remorse, Justice Champion said that was tempered by attempts by Tiumalu to shirk responsibility for his actions.

He ordered Tiumalu serve at least five years of a seven-and-a-half year sentence before he's eligible for parole.