Mark William Puffett was "paralytic drunk", telling his partner he loved her and hated her, and putting his hands around her throat.
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Mr Puffett smashed a coffee table and a framed picture, and kicked and banged on doors in their house in Ambarvale, in south-west Sydney, on the evening of June 20, 2012.
His erratic behaviour drew the ire of his neighbour, Viengsavanh Phanekham, who was drinking and playing video games next door.
Phanekham told police he yelled out something like "Shut the f--- up" to Mr Puffett
Mr Puffett yelled out to Phanekham to come outside and fight, before he was seen "shadow boxing" and doing karate moves on the street.
No one saw the men's confrontation, but Mr Puffett soon screamed, "I've been stabbed, I've been stabbed" and ran back to his house.
His partner, Leeann Calleja, told Phanekham's murder trial in 2013: "I try as hard as I can not to think about that night as much as possible, the events leading up to it, the events after it, him dying in my arms."
A jury found Phanekham not guilty of Mr Puffett's murder, but guilty of manslaughter, and Justice Robert Beech-Jones sentenced him to at least six years' jail.
"It must have been a horrendous scene. Parts of [Mr Puffett's] digestive system had fallen out of the stab wound," Justice Beech-Jones said.
On Monday, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal rejected Phanekham's bid for a reduction in his sentence, based on the single ground that the sentencing judge had not properly considered his mental state.
A psychiatrist reported Phanekham had suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was 12, and had chronic depression and substance abuse issues.
The appeals court heard evidence that Phanekham was suffering anxiety in jail.
"The applicant's difficulties in custody appear to originate, in large measure, from the actions of other inmates. Such a difficulty is not uncommon," the appeal judgment said.
"The condition is apparently being appropriately treated, and the assessments of the applicant are generally positive."
Phanekham's trial heard that he called triple-zero soon after the stabbing and told the operator that he "just stabbed someone", who "ran at me and I just pulled out a knife".
He is eligible for parole on June 20, 2018.
