A man who used a backpack containing a six-pack of beer to bludgeon another man to death in northern Tasmania has been sentenced to 20 years in jail.
Neville Lindsay Whiting, 32, stomped on the head of Scott Rock before hitting him on head with the backpack at Ravenswood, near Launceston, in March last year.
Whiting will be eligible for parole in 2023.
Sean Timothy Hudson, 37, who was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter by a jury, was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for assault and for being an accessory after the fact.
Justice Peter Evans said it was difficult to know why Whiting became involved in an altercation between Mr Rock and Hudson as he had no personal relationship with the dead man.
But Justice Evans said Whiting was "very intoxicated" and that had played a "significant part" in the attack.
Whiting and Hudson followed Mr Rock from a house after an argument and Hudson punched the 43-year-old victim twice.
Whiting then impulsively stomped on Mr Rock's head three or four times before clobbering him with the backpack.
He dumped the body in bushland and set fire to it before the remains were discovered by a kangaroo shooter.
Hudson will be eligible for parole after five-and-a-half years.
