A killer who bludgeoned a sleeping homeless man to death by repeatedly dropping a huge paving slab on his head has been jailed for life.

Sergio Lemori, 33, was caught on harrowing CCTV carrying the slab up to Andrew O'Connell, 54, moments before the "brutal and unprovoked" attack.

Lemori has never explained why he killed the defenceless "much-loved family man", whom he did not know, in Brighton's Royal Pavilion Gardens last summer.

Mr O'Connell, from Chatham, Kent, was not found for seven hours and died as a result of his injuries in hospital two days later.  

His jobless killer only admitted murder last month after a judge ruled he was fit to stand trial.

And yesterday, Lemori was sentenced to life behind bars at Lewes Crown Court in East Sussex.

Lemori has been jailed for life for the murder

Detective Inspector Mark Woodall, of Sussex Police, said: "This was a completely unprovoked attack on a vulnerable and defenceless man who was unknown to Lemori, and who was simply minding his own business as he slept rough in Brighton's Royal Pavilion Gardens that night.

"The incident has caused a huge amount of distress to Mr O'Connell's family, who are understandably bewildered as to how and why this tragic incident occurred.

"We are satisfied that justice has been served and one more dangerous criminal has been removed from the streets of Sussex."

Lemori, of no fixed address, initially denied the murder before finally changing his plea to guilty.

The court heard his attack had no motive.

Andrew O'Connell was described as a "much-loved family man"

Disturbing CCTV footage showed him carrying the slab up to his victim in the moments before the attack.

Dressed in a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, he then dropped the slab on to Mr O'Connell's head four times, it was said.

The killing occurred on the night of August 7 last year.

Claire Gallagher, Senior Crown Prosecutor, said: "The prosecution was able to put together such a strong case that the defendant pleaded guilty to murder at an early stage in the case, knowing that his DNA had been found near the scene and the murder had been captured on CCTV.

Sussex Police released photos of the paving slab

"The defendant clearly intended to kill or at least seriously injure his victim.

"He came armed to the scene with a weapon, in this case a piece of paving stone, and he had obviously pre-planned his attack.

"Perhaps the most sickening aspect to this case is that the victim was completely defenceless and vulnerable, given that he was asleep at the time he was attacked."