A Melbourne man has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years in jail over the fatal assault of an Airbnb guest who owed $210 in unpaid rent.

Craig Jonathan Levy, 37, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Ramus Jonuzi at a home in Brighton East in October 2017.

Mr Jonuzi, 36, had extended his stay at the property and was beaten by several men when he was unable to pay.

During a plea hearing last week the court heard Mr Jonuzi died from “compression of the neck and blunt-force trauma to the head”.

Justice Andrew Tilley said Mr Jonuzi had been “cruelly and senselessly taken away from his family and loved ones”.

He set a non-parole period of four-and-a-half years.

The court was told that, on the day of the attack, Levy had restrained Mr Jonuzi while another man attacked him inside the house, allegedly choking and throwing him against a wall.

Levy took Mr Jonuzi outside, where the attack continued as Levy used his mobile phone to access the victim’s bank balance.

“At this point the deceased was crying and apologising,” prosecutor Raymond Gibson said in the previous hearing.

“At one time during the assault Levy dropped his elbow on the deceased’s chest.”

The court heard Mr Levy was a trained chef with a significant cannabis dependency.

More to come

-ABC