Man jailed over Sydney neighbour killing

A Sydney man with a history of unprovoked, drunken attacks on innocent strangers has been jailed for at least 17 years for killing his neighbour with a smashed beer bottle.

Sateki Siale had been drinking for hours when he walked 40 metres to where Kelly Ventigadoo was chatting with his parents and asked: "Why the f*** you talking loud for?"

"This is my street. I live here," Siale said.

Within seconds he was stepping over his neighbour's body and walking home, after smashing his beer bottle and inflicting the two strikes that would kill the 45-year-old almost instantly.

Siale, 26, was in August found guilty of murdering Mr Ventigadoo as he farewelled his parents outside his Lakemba flat in the early hours of October 11, 2015.

NSW Supreme Court Justice Peter Garling on Friday sentenced him to a maximum of 24 years in prison with a non-parole period of 17 years over "a most violent crime".

"Ultimately, this was a senseless and violent killing of an innocent bystander," Justice Garling said.

The judge said Siale ignored the protestations of Mr Ventigadoo, who before he was attacked said "it's OK, I live here too".

In seconds he had slashed his neighbour's face, neck and throat, completely severing his jugular vein and carotid artery.

Mr Ventigadoo slid to the ground after the first strike and asked "why did you do that?", before he was attacked again, Justice Garling said.

The court heard Siale had been drinking for hours and was seen snorting a white power before the attack.

Justice Garling said it wasn't the first time a drunk and unprovoked Siale had attacked innocent strangers, having previously been convicted of aggravated robbery, affray and common assault.

The judge was satisfied Siale was heavily intoxicated during the attack on Mr Ventigadoo and intended to cause grievous bodily harm - but he couldn't conclude the man had an intention to kill.

"(He) will need a longer than usual period of supervision upon his release in order to ensure that he refrains from drinking alcohol and that he is able to reintegrate peacefully into the community," the judge said.

Mr Ventigadoo's mother, Cynthia, thanked the judge, prosecutors and police outside court but said the jail sentence wouldn't bring her son back.

"Our son is not coming back and that's why my husband couldn't be here today," she told reporters.

"He had a heart attack two weeks ago from the stress, so I didn't want him to come."

Siale will be eligible for parole in October 2032.