Kiwi triple-killer Ian Jamieson given life sentence

Ian Jamieson, who pleaded guilty to killing his neighbour then gunning down both his victim's parents, is taken from the prison van to the Victorian Supreme courts. Photo / AAP

A New Zealander who stabbed his neighbour to death then gunned down the victim's elderly parents after a fight over a dusty track has been sentenced to life in prison.

Triple-murderer Ian Francis Jamieson, 65, was given a life sentence in the Supreme Court in Victoria on Friday, with a non-parole period of 30 years, AAP reported.

Jamieson pleaded guilty to murdering Peter Lockhart, 78, and Mary Lockhart, 75, and her son Greg Holmes, 48, at their Wedderburn property in central Victoria on October 22, 2014.

The court heard Jamieson had never committed a violent crime before he stabbed Holmes to death with a hunting knife before he shot the victim's mother and her husband.

Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth told court Jamieson "intentionally took the lives of three other human beings fuelled by your anger".

She said it was highly likely Jamieson would die in prison as the result of his "appalling deeds" - his sentence extends until he's 95.

Justice Hollingworth said he was entitled to a 30-year non-parole period because he pleaded guilty to his crimes - although she would have set a longer non-parole period if not for his age.

Grieving friends and family of the victims burst into tears as the sentences were read out.

Jamieson killed the trio for no reason other than his own "long standing and utterly misplaced animosity" over the use of a dirt road that ran alongside his property, Justice Hollingworth said.

Over time, he had grown more and more aggrieved about the Lockharts driving up the track, saying they were spraying dust on to his house.

On the day of the murders, Holmes had driven up the track. Jamieson waited until after dark, and then climbed the fence armed with a hunting knife. He stabbed Holmes more than 20 times.

He then armed himself with two shotguns and drove to the Lockharts' home, where he shot the elderly couple in an attack prosecutors said was designed to "punish and degrade" the pair.

Jamieson initially denied his role in the triple murder, before pleading guilty the morning his trial was due to start.

He later attempted to change his plea on one count to not guilty, saying he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Holmes -- a claim Justice Hollingworth rejected.

She dismissed as "complete fabrication" his submission that Holmes had stabbed Jamieson with a syringe filled with what he said was "probably ice".

Jamieson pleaded guilty in April to the murders.

His bid to have his plea changed to not guilty over the killing of Holmes was rejected by the Supreme Court earlier this month.

- Agencies