A Victorian man who violated and strangled an 11-year-old girl after sneaking into her bedroom has been jailed for life.
Bowe Evan Levi Maddigan, 31, told police he thought Zoe Buttigieg looked "angelic" and he wanted to have her all to himself before attacking her.
He will be eligible for parole after serving 28 years for the murder and sexual assault of Zoe in her Wangaratta home in October last year.
Relatives, who had packed the court dressed in purple, burst into applause when the judge announced a life sentence would be imposed.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Lex Lasry said he had given the sentence anxious consideration.
Ultimately he found the violation and murder of a child in her own bed warranted a term of life imprisonment, despite Maddigan pleading guilty to both charges.
Zoe was entitled to feel safe in her home, Justice Lasry said. The murder was face-to-face and would not have been quick.
"It is almost trite to say your offending was extremely serious," he said. "It might not have been a prolonged or frenzied attack ... But the fact you murdered her is gratuitous."
Maddigan had gone to the house where Zoe lived with her mother, Janelle Saunders, after a day of drinking with friends. He and others spent the night smoking cannabis and continuing to drink.
Some time after 3.45am Maddigan woke and began to prowl around the house.
He entered Zoe's bedroom, where she was in all likelihood asleep, and coaxed her down from the top bunk. He then assaulted and strangled her. He still refuses to say why.
Justice Lasry said the murder remained a "tragic mystery".
Maddigan was picked up by police dazed and with self-inflicted wounds on a freeway.
Child exploitation material was found on his phone, among other pornographic images, and a blood test revealed he had opiates in his system.
Zoe's uncle read a statement on behalf of Ms Saunders outside court, saying not a day goes by when Zoe is not missed.
"Every day is filled with emptiness," Ms Saunders's statement said. "I love her so much. There are so many things my little girl will never get to do."
AAP