A BURGLAR who beat Zayden Veal-Whitting baby to death and tried to blame the murder on his twin brother will spend at least 32 years in jail.

Supreme Court Justice Stephen Kaye said Harley Hicks, 21, had committed an act of “unmitigated evil” for the murder of 10-month-old Zayden Veal-Whitting while he slept in his cot.

Hicks used a makeshift baton crafted out of copper wire and electrical tape to rain blows upon Zayden in an ice-fuelled frenzy in the early hours of June 15, 2012.

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A jury found Hicks guilty of murdering the sleeping child, as well as charges of aggravated burglary and theft, after a five-week Supreme Court trial in Bendigo.

media_camera Casey Veal, the mother of slain Bendigo baby Zayden Veal.

DNA found on the murder weapon became critical evidence during the trial.

This morning Justice Kaye sentenced Hicks to a minimum of 32 years in prison for the murder.

Hicks was also given two-and-a-half years for aggravated burglary, and five months for two counts of theft, all to be served concurrently.

“You have committed an appallingly violent and callous murder of an innocent, helpless, 10-month-old infant,” Justice Kaye said.

media_camera Harley Hickswas jailed for life for the murder of Zayden Veal-Whitting. Picture Rob Leeson

“All human life is sacrosanct ... however, the life of a baby is particularly special and precious. At the time of his death, Zayden was on the threshold of childhood, with the future before him. He was in the safety of his own home, secure in his own cot.

“Any human being, with even a shred of decency and humanity, could only feel compassion, tenderness and protectiveness towards an infant in those circumstances. By contrast you inflicted a brutal bashing, with a lethal instrument, on that baby.

“It is almost unthinkable that any human being could have carried out the sickening crime that you have committed. What you did was totally and utterly evil,” Justice Kaye said during the one-hour sentencing.

media_camera Harley Hicks outside court in Bendigo.

Zayden’s mother, Casey Veal, told the Herald Sun she was relieved the family could now move on from the tragedy that had engulfed their lives.

“We know that justice has been served for Zayden and we can begin to plan our futures again,” Ms Veal said.

“We feel safer and we’re actually looking forward to starting a new life.”

But she added no sentence would be long enough for Hicks.

“I’ll live with my own life sentence forever. I don’t get a way out and I won’t feel OK,” she said.

media_camera The murder weapon.

The grieving mother and her then-partner, Mathew Tisell, reported the house had been robbed after awaking to their doors open, belongings missing and their cars rifled through.

Going into Zayden’s bedroom to wake him, Ms Veal drew back a blanket covering his face to discover her son had been grotesquely beaten.

She and Mr Tisell attempted CPR on Zayden before paramedics rushed him to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Justice Kaye described the full account of the young family’s experience as harrowing.

media_camera Zayden’s father James Whitting, mother Casey Veal and grandmother Georgina Cahill outside court after the verdict. Picture Rob Leeson

“I can only imagine the dreadful trauma and heartbreak involved, at that time, for Casey Veal, for Mathew Tisell, and for those who loved Zayden. It is appropriate that I acknowledge their valiant attempts to save Zayden, and the dedicated efforts of the ambulance paramedics and the staff of the Bendigo Hospital emergency department, who attended him,” he said.

Hicks stared at the floor as Justice Kaye detailed the horrific injuries inflicted upon Zayden.

He said the then-teenage killer’s eagerness to leave Bendigo, his actions in checking the internet for news of the baby’s death, cutting up his tracksuit pants to dispose of any potential evidence, and hiding the night at a Gisborne football oval, showed his efforts to avoid detection for the horrific crime.

media_camera Ashley Hicks, twin bother of Harley Hicks, outside the court.

Upon his arrest, Hicks immediately concocted a story that a former acquaintance, Aiden Kirby, had potentially committed the murder — a lie that persisted until the beginning of the trial.

“Having failed in your attempt to blame Aiden Kirby, you then shifted your strategy. At the trial your counsel on your behalf raised the possibility that on the evening in question you were out committing burglaries with your twin brother, Ashley Hicks.”

Justice Kaye said Hicks had shown no remorse, from the outset of the crime to the jury verdict against him.

“At no stage of the trial could I detect from you any sign of remorse. Nor was there even the slightest indication by you of any pity or sympathy for the baby, whose life you had taken, or for his family, whose lives you have shattered. Rather, you seemed totally oblivious and impervious to such human feelings,” he said.

The 21-year-old’s lengthy criminal history was detailed before the court.

From 14, he began a criminal career involving armed robbery, aggravated burglary, recklessly endangering life and multiple counts of burglary.

media_camera Zayden’s mother Casey Veal is supported outside the court. Picture Rob Leeson.

Justice Kaye noted Hicks’ involvement in terrorising a woman during a home invasion in May 2009, as well as brandishing a kitchen knife at a service station attendant during an armed robbery in April 2011.

Hicks was serving a community corrections order for the armed robbery and there were warrants out for his arrest when he murdered Zayden.

Justice Kaye said Hicks was the victim of a dysfunctional upbringing and had begun using drugs early.

He said while his youth and family life were mitigating factors, they were overshadowed by the “senseless violence” he committed.

He said while Hicks’s case could be compared to those of Arthur Freeman and Robert Farquharson, who both murdered their children, they were not precedents to his sentence.

Outside court, Casey Veal’s mother Georgina Cahill — who wore a T-shirt with Zayden’s photo on it — thanked everyone for their support.

angus.thompson@news.com.au