Man who murdered aunt gets 14 years

An ice fiend who bashed his aunt to death with a brick during a naked, drug-fuelled rampage had only been released from custody a day before the murder.

Jamie May will now spend at least 14 years and 10 months behind bars after being sentenced over the brutal murder of his maternal aunt, Judith Townsend, who he set upon outside a Redfern unit block on April 11, 2014.

The day earlier, he had been given a 12-month suspended sentence, fined and placed on a good behaviour bond over a series of goods in custody and driving offences.

May, 40, decided to celebrate his release with a bender and this likely led to the murder of Ms Townsend, Justice Helen Wilson told the NSW Supreme Court as she sentenced May on Wednesday.

"This was a crime which I have no doubt would not have been committed if not for the offender's state of extreme drug induced intoxication," she said.

"The offence probably had its genesis in the offender's desire, upon being released from prison on 10 April 2014, to have a big night out, an expression which I infer referred to the acquisition and use of drugs."

May's search for drugs took him to Redfern and he went to visit his aunt at lunchtime.

"His brief interaction with Mrs Townsend at around 1pm was cordial," Justice Wilson said.

Six hours later, as the drugs took hold, May threatened two women with a knife as he became increasingly aggressive.

"He was complaining of feeling "funny" and his behaviour became odd and troubling to those around him," Justice Wilson said

Between 9pm and 9.30pm May went to Mrs Townsend's unit and kicked on her door, demanding to be let in.

"By that stage, he was naked apart from footwear, and must have been well affected by illicit drugs," Justice Wilson said.

May wasn't allowed to enter and Mrs Townsend and her husband Ralph set off on a walk.

May and his victim crossed paths on Redfern Street "and she simply wished to avoid him when he was in such a state", Justice Wilson said.

"Despite her efforts to walk away from the offender, he quickly caught up with her," the court heard.

"What followed was both rapid, and terrible."

May began screaming "you're not my f***ing aunty, you're not my aunty" and turned his violent rage on the 61-year-old.

"He took hold of her by her throat and shoulder and he began to strike her in the face, holding the half brick in his hand and using it as a weapon," Justice Wilson said.

"The blows were sufficiently forceful to push Mrs Townsend's head back into the security grate of a ground floor window of the building with each blow, and to injure her, probably very seriously."

May did not react when he was sentenced to a non-parole period of 14-years and 10 months.

With his sentence backdated to begin when he was taken into custody, May will first be eligible for release on February 10, 2029.