A South Australian man who violently assaulted his friend in an "alcohol-fuelled fight" then left him for dead on a remote beach has been jailed for at least five years and nine months.
Matthew James Loleit, 41, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Rory "Meggs" Elliott at Telowie Beach, 200 kilometres north of Adelaide, in February 2018.
In sentencing Loleit in the Supreme Court on Monday, Justice Kevin Nicholson said the pair, who were camping together, had been drinking "a very substantial amount" of beer and spirits when a fight broke out overnight.
"It is readily apparent ... that you had by far the better of the fight from its beginning and throughout."
"Mr Elliott received quite a severe beating at your hands."
Justice Nicholson said Mr Elliott's fatal injury was most likely caused when Loleit fell on top of him, causing a pre-existing cyst on his spleen to rupture.
"This caused the loss of 1.3 litres or so of blood into Mr Elliott's abdominal cavity," he said.
On Loleit's version of events, he offered to take Mr Elliott to Port Pirie the next morning but his friend refused and by the time he returned to the campsite that evening the 49-year-old was dead.
Mr Elliott was found with significant abrasions to his back - possibly the result of being dragged after his death - and his backpack and mobile phone have never been found.
"Plainly, the full circumstances surrounding the fight and what took place the next day, prior to and after the death of Mr Elliott, cannot be known with any certainty," Justice Nicholson said.
He jailed Loleit for seven years, two months and two weeks with a non-parole period of five years, nine months and one week for the "sustained and violent assault".
"You took the life of a young man, thereby causing untold grief and distress to his family and friends," he said.
"Having said that I recognise, as I must, that you had no intention to kill Mr Elliott, nor to cause him grievous bodily harm."
Justice Nicholson also ordered he serve 12 days behind bars for two counts of breaching a bond, to be served alongside the manslaughter sentence.
Both sentences were backdated to February 2018, when Loleit was taken into custody.
Australian Associated Press
