Man jailed for life over frenzied murder

A career criminal who brutally murdered a man in a frenzied attack just months after being released from prison for another murder has been jailed for life.

In a "chilling, similar" attack to his previous murder, Frank Babic, 45, beat his victim Raphael Innaimo with a metal fire poker at least 55 times and punched a hole in his neck.

He also wrapped electrical flex around Mr Innaimo's neck, body and legs at the warehouse from which the victim sold used goods in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick in June 2006.

After the murder, with Mr Innaimo's blood dripping from his jacket sleeves, Babic went to a nearby supermarket.

Police found a trail of the victim's blood at the store.

In sentencing Babic on Friday, Justice Betty King said while Mr Innaimo did push or punch, the attack was unprovoked.

"The deceased man received a ferocious beating over a period of time," Justice King said.

"It was a savage and sustained beating of this man. It could be described as almost frenzied and it is clear from your lack of injuries that the deceased man was unable to put up any substantial form of resistance."

Justice King said that while Babic was intoxicated on the night it was not a mitigating factor.

The court heard Babic was born in Croatia and moved to Melbourne at the age of five.

His criminal career began in 1981 when as a 19-year-old he was sentenced to time in a youth training centre for a series of burglaries.

In 1997, he was sentenced to a minimum of 10 and a half years for murder, and was released on September 22, 2005.

Babic now has been found guilty of 84 offences from 25 court appearances, the court heard.

Justice King ordered Babic serve 28 years in jail before being eligible for parole.

afp 21 Jun 2008

The real pity about this is that the law system releases this kind of trash when there is beyond any reasonable doubt that there can be NO REHABILITATION of such an individual.

The only people suffer are the innocent victims that have been let down by the system. The Law Makers and Policy upholders are virtually unscathed by these crimes.

Only 28 years? The previous sentence DID NOT discourage !!

Justice Kings' verdict is pathetic !!!!

The Death Penalty SHOULD be brought back for such heinous crimes.