The family of a teenage boy murdered by a man wearing brass knuckledusters filled a courtroom with applause - and verbal abuse - as the killer was jailed in Melbourne.

Thomas Kelson, 29, has been sentenced to 24 years' imprisonment for murdering 17-year-old Cayleb Hough, whose body was found in the Lerderderg State Park near Macedon in March 2016, about three months after he died.

As he was lead out of the docks at the Supreme Court of Victoria on Friday, Cayleb's family screamed "you crumb" and "you filthy scum" at the killer, who will be eligible for parole in 19 years.

Family and friends of victim Cayleb Hough, pictured above, erupted in cheers when the judge handed down the sentence. (Nine)

In sentencing, Justice Andrew Tinney condemned the "violent and protracted assault" and "absolute tragedy" of Cayleb's death at the hands of someone who'd been a friend.

He said the pair had been at a party and both consumed drugs and alcohol, becoming "on edge".

The next day, on December 20, 2015, the pair attended a friend's address at Collingwood, smoking ice and "speaking in riddles" as they become more drug-affected.

During their time at Collingwood, Kelson became concerned about the disappearance of his father, incorrectly believing Cayleb had something to do with it.

He began striking Cayleb, giving him a bleeding nose, and cutting his arm with a kitchen knife while "ranting and raving".

After a time, Cayleb became making "entirely false revelations" about Kelson's father, including that he'd been raped and shot.

Thomas Kelson, pictured above, pleaded guilty in June to murdering Cayleb Hough. (nine)

Kelson then threatened to kill the boy.

He bound the teen with duct tape, binding his hands and placing some over his mouth, bundling him up in the rear seat of his car.

Kelson then drove in convoy with another man to an abandoned mineshaft in the forest near Bacchus Marsh.

On the way, Cayleb kicked the back of Kelson's head, causing him to go "ballistic".

Kelson put the knuckledusters on his hand and fatally struck the boy a number of times.

He then dragged the boy's body from his car, dumping him in the mineshaft and telling him he was "a dog".

Kelson later drove to Sydney and escaped for a while in Argentina before deciding to return home.

He was arrested at the airport at his arrival back in Australia in January 2016.

An autopsy was unable to determine Cayleb's cause of death because his body had become "largely skeletonised".

"You murdered a 17-year-old boy over who you were able to exercise control in the last hours of his life," Justice Tinney said.