Phil Cottrell's family is horrified his killer was on intensive supervision when the Wellington journalist was fatally beaten in a callous attack.
They learned details of Nicho Waipuka's violent past only when he was sentenced to 12 years and 10 months in prison in the High Court at Wellington yesterday.
Waipuka, 20, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter by a High Court jury in December.
His co-accused Manuel Robinson, 18, was cleared of all charges.
Mr Cottrell, who had brittle bones as a result of a genetic condition, suffered a shattered skull in the attack as he walked home from work at Radio New Zealand in central Wellington early on December 10, 2011. He died in hospital the next day.