BREAKING:
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Kurri Kurri puppy killer Nathan Thompson has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment with a non-parole period of 12 months.
The RSPCA has called a press conference starring Lucky, the sole survivor of the attack.
Comment is expected from the society at 1.30pm.
EARLIER:
A post-mortem report on the nine puppies bashed to death by Nathan Thompson stated the severity of the attack was at "the top end of force and brutality," Newcastle Local Court has heard.
Thompson, 25, will be sentenced at noon Tuesday after pleading guilty mid-March to 13 charges including aggravated animal cruelty, serious animal cruelty and resisting arrest.
He has already been handed a lifetime ban on owning animals.
Thompson was greeted outside court by animal advocates calling for justice for the nine puppies that he bashed to death last month.
In court, Thompson said a friend of eight years, Tony Brown, had given him the puppies and asked him to dispose of them.
The post-mortem report showed the dead puppies had blood in their breathing canals, which indicated they were still alive while being attacked by Thompson.
Their injuries included severe head trauma, blunt force trauma, catastrophic brain injury and herniation of the brain.
Thompson tendered a letter saying he deeply regretted what he did and in hindsight he would deal with the situation differently.
The defence argued before the court Tuesday morning that Thompson should receive a non-custodial sentence due to drug dependency and mental health issues.
They said Thompson was under the influence of ice and cannabis at the time he killed the puppies.
A police report compiled after his arrest the following day stated that Thompson was of a coherent mind and able to give a statement.
The court also heard that the Thompson family had been subject to abuse and the family home attacked with graffiti since the media publicised the attack.
Thompson's sentence will be handed down at midday.
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