Lance Rhodes jailed for 30 years after meth-fuelled killing spree

Lance Rhodes pleaded guilty to murdering a child and his mother. Photo / via 9 News

Linda Adams should have been able to count on her son to protect her.

Instead, she spent her final moments terrified of him, knowing that the ice- fuelled man standing over her was trying to kill her.

Lance Rhodes was sentenced to a minimum 30 years in jail on Friday for stabbing and bludgeoning his 63-year-old mother to death and for the equally brutal slaying of a young boy in Sydney's west, on September 8, 2015.

He was in a drug-induced psychosis when he chased Ms Adams at her Lalor Park home, repeatedly stabbed her and hit her on the head with a 28kg statue numerous times after she collapsed.

The frenzied attack happened at Lalor Park in Sydney's western suburbs. Photo / via 9 News

Later, he stabbed the boy with a two-pronged knife, repeatedly bashed his head against a wall and used a large piece of sandstone to bludgeon his skull.

"One could expect a mother could rely on her adult son to provide protection from harm," NSW Supreme Court Justice Stephen Campbell said before sentencing Rhodes to a maximum 40 years behind bars.

"(The child) would have known the offender was intending to kill him and like Linda he would have been terrified in his final moments of life."

Rhodes hung his head throughout the judgment and did not appear to show any emotion as he was led away after the sentence.

The court heard he had come home on the night of the attack and told his 19-year-old niece, "we're going to have some fun tonight", to which she replied, "whatever".

After starting to attack his mother, Rhodes said "they're in the house" and "don't worry, I'll get rid of them".

He later told the now-dead boy and another child that had tried to hide: "If you move, talk or speak, I'm going to stab you with this knife."

"Die, just f***ing die. I don't care," the court heard he said after killing the little boy.

Rhodes, who pleaded guilty to the murders in a local court, told police he couldn't remember anything and was "insane".

Justice Campbell said he was sceptical about Rhodes' amnesia claims but did find he was suffering from a drug-induced psychosis, after consuming ice and cannabis on the day of the killings.

The child's body was found near a tree on the property, while Ms Adams' was found face up about two metres from the door of her neighbours' home.

She had tried to seek refuge in the house, Justice Campbell said.

After the murders, a bloodied Rhodes ran at a member of the public and then tried to get in her locked car as she beeped her horn for help.

He also wrestled with the first police officer on the scene, whose Taser had twice misfired. Rhodes will be eligible for parole in September 2045.

"No matter how long the sentence is, it will not bring back two beautiful people we have lost," Ms Adams' daughter Tina Rhodes said after the sentence.