Australian sentenced to life for killing three Indians

Melbourne, Jul 5: A 42-year-old Australian was today sentenced to at least 35 years in jail without parole for brutally

his Indian girlfriend and her two siblings, in the longest sentence handed down in Queensland history.

Queensland Supreme Court judge John Byrne handed down three life sentences to Massimo 'Max' Sica for killing his former 24-year-old girlfriend Neelma Singh and her siblings -- Kunal, 18, and Sidhi, 12, in 2003 in Brisbane.

The three were found dead in the spa of their parents' home at Bridgeman Downs, on Brisbane's northern fringe. Justice Byrne called Sica manipulative and deceitful and said he had shown no remorse for the "brutal, horrific crimes in the worst category of murder".

Sica showed no emotion as the sentence was read out. Earlier on Tuesday, a jury of eight men and four women found Sica guilty of triple murder. The judge said the crimes had devastating consequences for the Singh family, causing them awful misery they would suffer for the rest of their lives.

Sica was sentenced to serve a life sentence for each victim, and Justice Byrne said he must not be released for 35 years unless under exceptional circumstances.

Crown prosecutor Brendan Campbell had submitted that Sica should serve 45 years in prison and described it as "the horrendous nature of the killings", including "the murder of an 18 and a 12-year-old in a callous, calculating way" to cover his tracks. He said Sica had showed an intent to kill, had operated normally the next day and had "an appalling criminal history".

His crimes had a "devastating" affect on the Singh family and the ensuing trial revealed "salacious" family details which added to their pain, media reports said.

PTI