A Sydney man who raped and murdered a student before stuffing her body in a suitcase and throwing it in a canal has been jailed for at least 30 years.
Daniel Stani-Reginald, 21, had shown no capacity for empathy and no remorse for the "extremely cruel" murder of his neighbour, Tosha Thakkar, in March 2011, Justice Derek Price said, setting a maximum 45 year jail term.
Stani-Reginald had planned to sexually assault and murder a woman well before he selected Ms Thakkar as his victim, overpowered her in her Croydon unit, raped and strangled her, the Supreme Court heard on Friday.
In the months before the murder, Stani-Reginald read thousands of internet articles on serial killers and rapists.
After he disposed of Ms Thakkar's body, he went home and read an article entitled Beginnings of a Serial Killer.
Her body was discovered two days later with a cord wrapped tightly around her neck.
"Notwithstanding her efforts to survive, the offender strangled her, which was extremely cruel," Justice Price said.
"The last minutes of her life must have been horrifying. This was a terrible way for the deceased to die."
Stani-Reginald made no reaction as the judge handed down the sentence.
The crown had pressed for life imprisonment, but Justice Price ruled against the imposition of such a lengthy term.
He also said there was not enough evidence to find Stani-Reginald had planned to become a serial killer, as submitted by the crown.
But the judge said he was satisfied there was a real risk Stani-Reginald would reoffend by committing "serious offences of violence and sexual assault".
In the three months before the murder, Stani-Reginald looked up articles on infamous Australian cases like that of Dean Shillingsworth, the murdered toddler whose body was dumped in a suitcase.
He perused judgments on the sentences of notorious killers and viewed pornography relating to the degradation of Indian women on the morning he murdered Ms Thakkar, whom Justice Price said had done absolutely nothing to provoke the attack.
Stani-Reginald's "lack of empathy for the enormity of his crime" was evidenced by the calm manner in which he ordered a taxi and took the suitcase to the canal, the judge said.
Taking into account time served, he will be eligible for parole in March 2041, when he will be 49-years-old.
Family members of Ms Thakkar were in court for the sentence.
Speaking outside court, Ms Thakkar's cousin, Pratik Thakkar, said her biggest mistake was believing everyone was good, including her neighbour.
"She was a happy girl," he said, adding the family was disappointed with the sentence.
"We have lost Tosha forever. We're not going to get her back, so we were expecting a life sentence."
Detective Sergeant Peter Rudens said the case was one of the worst he had ever seen and it had taken its toll on investigating officers.
"It's a terrible crime," he said.
