Prosecutors push to increase murderer and rapist Codey Hermann's sentence to life

Prosecutors have today appealed the sentence given to the man who murdered exchange student Aiia Maasarwe in 2019, calling for him to be jailed for life.

Codey Herrmann is currently serving 36 years in prison for the rape and murder of Ms Maasarwe in Bundoora.

Prosecutors are arguing this sentence is manifestly inadequate for the crime they say was motivated by the killer's "primitive male rage".

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Ms Maasarwe was coming home from a night out in January 2019 when she was bashed with a metal pole several times, before being raped and murdered.

Hermann ambushed the 21-year-old on while she was on the phone to her sister.

Prosecutors described the crime as the worst in its category, and that a head sentence of life in prison killer is the only appropriate punishment for the 22-year-old man.

They believe if Hermann is released after serving his non-parole period of 30 years the community will be at risk.

The Director of Public Prosecutions Kerri Judd QC told the Court of Appeal that the sentencing judge gave too much weight to Herrmann's youth and personality disorder.

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Aiia's father Saeed Maasarwe says he's lost confidence in the Australian legal system, and the current sentence is a mockery of justice and doesn't deter anyone who is thinking of harming a woman.

Herrman's lawyers want the sentence left as it is, saying it appropriately takes into account Herrmann's background of appalling neglect and lack of priors, as well as giving him a chance of rehabilitation.