Patrik Weiss' killer sentenced over ‘depraved and monstrous' murder
A young man has been sentenced to life behind bars for what his own lawyer described as one of the most 'depraved and monstrous murders' one Australian state had ever seen.
Alexander Mark Sutton killed former West Coast Eagles soft-tissue therapist Patrik Weiss, 45, at the latter's suburban home in Lockridge, Perth, in June 2023 after the strangers organised online to meet up for sex.
Weiss, a father of two and coach of the Australian men's beach handball team, was struck twice to the head with a pickaxe, leaving him with a fractured skull.
His body was discovered the next day by his ex-wife when he did not pick his children up from school.
Sutton, then 19, had planned to kill and even wrote in a journal 'maybe I will eat a part of him as well', the court was told.
Sutton's own lawyer told the court the brutal crime was one of the most 'depraved and monstrous murders' WA had ever seen.
Sutton pleaded guilty to murder in January.
On Thursday he was sentenced to life in prison and must serve 20 years before he will be eligible for parole.
At the time of his death, Weiss had been preparing for the World Beach Games in Bali.
'This tragic news has shocked our community,' Handball Australia said in the wake of his murder.
'Patrik took a great deal of enjoyment and satisfaction in developing the sport of beach handball, the growth of the players and building a positive team culture.'
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