A man was killed at the hands of a customer after he sold him a pair of fake Apple AirPods.
Ross Houllis was brutally murdered by Sami Hamdach in what has been described as a "senseless" and "cruel" attack all because of a pair of fake AirPods.
The incident took place in Wakeley in February 2020 but Hamdach, who is from Sydney, Australia, only appeared at the city's Supreme Court on Friday having pleaded guilty to the murder of the 28-year-old.
The court heard details of the horrific incident that saw Houllis lured into a parking lot where he was attacked by Hamdach as well as another co-offender Abdul Karaali, who had been enlisted as the "muscle" for the ambush. The pair kicked and stomped on the seller while yelling for his money back.
"The need for muscle arose because it was the offender’s intention to not only insist upon a refund but also to teach Mr. Houllis a lesson by beating him up," Justice Stephen Campbell told those in attendance during his sentencing.
Per a report by News.com.au, surveillance footage that was given as evidence during the trial showed Karaali punching Houllis in the head as his body was held down by Hamdach.
"Mr. Karaali twice stomped on his head in quick succession in an obviously gratuitous, senseless and cruel manner," Justice Campbell said, noting that Hamdach had stopped Karaali from delivering a third blow.
The victim was later taken to hospital where he was treated by medical professionals for a total of three days before succumbing to his injuries.
The outlet cited that he had suffered "catastrophic brain injuries" at the hands of the two men.
Prior to the attack, the 28-year-old had agreed to meet up with Hamdach after listing a pair of Apple AirPods on Facebook Marketplace. The 30-year-old was hoping to buy them as a gift for his girlfriend, but shortly after the exchange was complete, he noticed that the product was fake and became irate.
He then hatched the plan to lure the victim into a parking lot with the aid of Loubna Kawtharani - who avoided jail time for her role in the murder - in order to make him pay for tricking him.
Hamdach has been sentenced to 16 years in prison with the possibility of parole after serving 12 years.
His accomplice, Karaali, had pleaded not guilty but was convicted by a jury earlier this month. He is still waiting to be sentenced.
Justice Campbell stated that Hamdach was the "progenitor" of the crime that led to Houllis’ subsequent death, adding that he decided to take the "law into his own hands."
"I must say one of the confounding aspects of the offender’s offending has been the difficulty in understanding how a young man with no real criminal record, living an otherwise productive life, came to be involved in the murder of Mr Houllis over such the trifling matter of the supply of non-genuine earbuds," he told the court.
Outside court, Houllis' mother, Janet, reacted after learning the sentence given to the first of two men to be jailed over her son's death.
"I would have been happy with longer but it is what it is," she told reporters, as per the Daily Mail. "It's not going to ever bring him back."
Hamdach will only be eligible for parole in February 2032.
