A thug murdered murdered a sleeping homeless man by dropping a paving slab on his head four times.
Sergio Lemori, 33, has never explained why he killed defenceless Andrew O’Connell, 54, in Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Gardens last summer.
He denied the murder despite being shown chilling CCTV footage of his attack on the “much-loved family man” from Chatham, Kent, whom he did not know.
Mr O’Connell was not found for seven hours and died as a result of his injuries in hospital two days later.
Jobless Lemori, of no fixed address, only admitted the charge last month after a judge ruled he was fit to stand trial.
He was sentenced to life imprisonment at Lewes Crown Court after the CCTV footage showed him carrying the slab up to his victim in a t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops on the night of August 7.
Detective Inspector Mark Woodall said: “This was a completely unprovoked attack on a vulnerable and defenceless man who was unknown to Lemori, and who was simply minding his own business as he slept rough in Brighton’s Royal Pavilion Gardens that night.
“The incident has caused a huge amount of distress to Mr O’Connell’s family, who are understandably bewildered as to how and why this tragic incident occurred.
“Lemori changed his plea to guilty – having originally denied even being in the area at the time – however he has never provided an explanation as to why he carried out the attack, which of course makes it even more difficult for the victim’s family and friends to process.
“Despite this, we are satisfied that justice has been served and one more dangerous criminal has been removed from the streets of Sussex.”
Senior Crown Prosecutor Claire Gallagher added: “The prosecution was able to put together such a strong case that the defendant pleaded guilty to murder at an early stage in the case, knowing that his DNA had been found near the scene and the murder had been captured on CCTV.
“The defendant clearly intended to kill or at least seriously injure his victim.
“He came armed to the scene with a weapon, in this case a piece of paving stone, and he had obviously pre-planned his attack.
“Perhaps the most sickening aspect to this case is that the victim was completely defenceless and vulnerable, given that he was asleep at the time he was attacked.”
By Berny Torre and Ed McConnell
