The father and son convicted of the shotgun murders of a notorious drug dealer and his wife have been sentenced to life in prison and both must serve a minimum of 37 years behind bars.
The sentence handed down in the Supreme Court was considered the lengthiest ever handed down in Western Australia, with one of the convicted men's lawyers, Gary Rogers, commenting: "Even Carl Williams didn't get that long... I am sure he got convicted of a lot more offences."
Williams was sentenced to a minimum jail term of 35 years for three Melbourne gangland killings, including that of Jason and Lewis Moran, in 2007. He had already been convicted of a fourth murder.
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Frank La Rosa's children, Lisa Mahoney and Steven La Rosa, leave the Supreme Court after the verdict was handed down. Photo: Aja Styles
In Perth, there were emotional scenes when the visibly distressed jury convicted Adam Mikhail, 24, and his father Frank, 56, of wilfully murdering Frank La Rosa and his wife Kim.
A woman, believed to be the mother and former wife to the Mikhails, screamed "you made a mistake, you made a mistake" as the jury's verdict was read out, and the court had to be cleared.
One female juror was seen crying as the verdict was handed down.
Both men's defence counsels failed to persuade Justice John McKechnie to delay sentencing while they obtained psychological and presentencing reports.
Justice McKechnie said the trial had already been a long process and he had "no evidence before me to suggest that your client has any psychological condition", he told Frank Mikhail's lawyer, Peter Ash.
Justice McKechnie considered the prosecution's submissions that both men should be given life sentences, never to be released, but instead handed down one of WA's lengthiest non-parole periods.
In his sentencing, he told the Mikhails: "The evidence against you was overwhelming and the circumstances inevitably pointed to your guilt."
He said the police investigation was "very thorough and comprehensive" and even though Adam Mikhail had shown his tenacity in trying to outwit police, "police were more clever".
"It was almost a perfect crime. As clever as you were, you would not escape justice," Justice McKechnie said.
He described the younger Mikhail as a "very dangerous young man" and his father, who instead of encouraging his son to take responsibility for his actions, "you did the opposite".
Justice McKechnie acknowledged that Frank Mikhail "may well die before a minimum term is even achieved".
Execution-style killing
The pair were found guilty of murdering Mr and Mrs La Rosa at a Welshpool factory on June 13, 2008.
The La Rosas were killed with a 12-gauge shotgun and found buried in a deep grave on a 40-hectare Chittering property belonging to Adam Mikhail's business partner, Tony Fazari, in January 2009.
Mr La Rosa was a convicted heroin importer and was facing fresh drug charges after methylamphetamine, ecstasy, MDMA and cannabis was found at his Alexander Heights home during a police raid in April, 2008.
During the trial, state prosecutor Linda Petrusa argued that the Mikhails were motivated by a drug debt of $32,000 owed to Mr La Rosa, which was accruing $3000 interest a month that neither of them could afford.
The defence tried to argue that other parties, including an Eastern States drug gang, had a greater motive to murder the pair, but the argument was rejected.
Today Ms Petrusa said it was a heinous crime, involving an execution-style killing which had undergone protracted planning and premeditation, that it was unprecedented in the state and therefore warranted an unprecedented jail sentence.
Adam Mikhail became teary in the dock as he heard that he might "not see the light of day" again.
Ms Petrusa described how the pair had carried out a "sustained and continued effort to destract and divert police attention" in the seven months following the La Rosas' disappearance.
She said the father-and-son duo had gone to great lengths to find a remote gravesite in order to avoid detection and the 2.5-metre deep grave would have taken several days to dig, "knowing the family would suffer, not knowing what had happened to the deceased".
She described the pair as "dangerous" and had shown a complete lack of remorse for their crimes, despite them, themselves being forgiven by Mr La Rosa's daughter, Lisa Mahoney.
La Rosa daughter's forgiveness
Ms Mahoney had earlier read an impact statement to the court, while looking at the stony faces of both accused men, saying that her family was left wondering for three years how her father and his wife could have been killed under such horrific circumstances.
"Every minute of every day was a torture you never have to bear," she said.
But she said she was no longer angry or vengeful for her father.
"Frank and Adam Mikhail, I am choosing to forgive you for this despicable crime as I no longer want to carry this around with me everywhere I go," she said.
Outside court, Ms Mahoney said the family was satisfied with the outcome of the trial.
"Justice has been served but there are no winners here. Two families have been left fatherless and for what? Greed," she said.
"A word to the criminal element: before you go out and do these despicable acts, think about your families and the pain and the hardship that you cause them and the blight on society.
"Is it worth letting down the ones you love, the ones who love you? I am here to tell you it is not."
During the three-month trial, the jury heard that Mr La Rosa had spent 12 years in jail during the 1990s for importing heroin and was a ''serious'' drug dealer.
He made national headlines in 2002 after being allowed to claim a $220,000 tax deduction for money stolen during a drug deal. He successfully argued that, as he made his living dealing drugs, he was entitled to claim the deduction because the money was stolen during a deal directly linked with his business.
