Brendan Kantilla sentenced to life in prison for murder of Bangladeshi student in Darwin

A Tiwi Islands man who murdered a 23-year-old international student during a Darwin home invasion in 2023 has been sentenced to life behind bars.

Warning: This story contains content that may be distressing to some readers.

Brendan Kantilla, who was 29 at the time of the attack, was on Monday found guilty of murdering Bangladeshi man Md Isfaqur Rahman following a six-day Northern Territory Supreme Court trial in Darwin.

Mr Rahman died in hospital in May 2023 after Kantilla struck him over the head with a paving stone and then with a fire extinguisher while he slept in his bed in his Millner home.

In the NT, murder carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison with a non-parole period of 20 years.

Kantilla 'marked' victim's home before attack, judge finds

In sentencing the now 31-year-old on Thursday, NT Supreme Court Justice Sonia Brownhill found Kantilla "marked" the student's property in his mind, following a fleeting verbal altercation outside the house over a cigarette.

Justice Brownhill said an hour later, Kantilla returned to the property, entering through the back door near where the victim's bedroom was located.

"You recognised him as the man who had insulted you earlier that night," Justice Brownhill said.

"You armed yourself with a brick paver from the yard, crept into his room with it, stood over him as he slept, raised the paver above your head and, using all your force, struck him to the head with it.

"When he began to convulse, and you were concerned his movements would wake other people in the house, you took a fire extinguisher and struck him twice to the head with it, which caused him to stop moving."

Kantilla then rummaged through the house for items to steal before he was eventually chased from the property by Mr Rahman's housemates.

During a police interview that was played to the jury, Kantilla told officers he wanted to make the victim "sleep".

"That indicates to me you meant him to be rendered unconscious but not dead," Justice Brownhill said.

Kantilla 'didn't understand how bad it was', defence submits

Kantilla's defence barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, acknowledged the crime was "very serious" and had caused "extreme harm" to the victim's family and friends.

Mr Boulten pointed to evidence heard during the trial of Kantilla's low cognitive function and exposure to developmental trauma as a child.

"It is open to the court to conclude on balance that at least part of the reason why he did what he did was because he just didn't understand how bad it was," Mr Boulten said.

Crown prosecutor Lloyd Babb SC submitted the offending could warrant a non-parole period above the mandatory minimum of 20 years.

"[Kantilla], with no knowledge of the deceased, in a premeditated and controlled way, stole into that house and, we say, with the intention to kill, and did it to a man sleeping in his own bed, where he had every right to feel safe," he said.

Victim's 'dreams' of life in Australia 'brutally taken', court hears

In handing down her sentence, Justice Brownhill referenced victim impact statements from the victim's family members, some of whom were listening to proceedings remotely via a video link.

In his written statement, the victim's father described Mr Rahman as "humble, kind-hearted, strongly principled and studious".

"The deceased's father said that the deceased was his only child and now he is gone, his heart is broken in pieces that cannot be put back together," the judge said.

"He said the deceased was the heart of him and his wife, and now they have no heart.

"The deceased's father also said what happened destroys the image of this country in the eyes of the world."

The victim's uncle told the court Mr Rahman had been excited to start a new life in Australia, but his dream was "brutally taken from him"

The judge also referenced a statement from the victim's cousin, who said Mr Rahman was "obsessed" with the Australian cricket team and had "big dreams" of moving abroad and one day becoming an Australian citizen.

"Now his beautiful soul, hopes, dreams and ambitions have all been taken," she said.

Justice Brownhill said there were no "exceptional circumstances" that would require anything more or less than the mandatory 20-year non-parole period for murder.

Kantilla will be eligible for parole from 2043, with Justice Brownhill backdating his sentence to May 2023 when he was first taken into custody.