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The best friend of a slain Uber driver has described the Queensland justice system as "broken" after learning the teenagers responsible for the killing could be released from jail in less than 10 years.
Scott Cabrie, a much-loved radio presenter and rideshare driver, was fatally stabbed up to seven times on Queensland's Fraser Coast in February 2023.
His attackers were aged 17 and 18.
The 47-year-old's body was discovered about five days later near a boat ramp in Howard after a search involving police and SES.
Scott Cabrie's body was found near a boat ramp at Howard in 2023. (Supplied: Hit 101.9 Fraser Coast)
The younger teen was sentenced to 15 years in jail but could be released on parole after serving 60 per cent of his sentence, which is a period of nine-and-a-half years.
Tye Wayne Porter was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years behind bars, with a non-parole period of six years.
Both sentences were backdated to February 2023, when the pair were first taken into custody.
The court previously heard that Porter and his co-accused had been drinking heavily when they hatched a plan to arm themselves with a knife and a meat cleaver and steal Mr Cabrie's car.
The teens forced him into the boot of his own vehicle and drove 8 minutes to the boat ramp, where he was stabbed in the chest and legs while trying to escape.
The pair then dumped Mr Cabrie's body before putting the weapons, balaclavas and a bloodied shirt into the car and setting it on fire in an attempt to destroy evidence.
A memorial was held on the beach for Mr Cabrie. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)
The pair were later overheard joking about the offending and another witness saw the pair "playacting" stabbing each other.
The court heard that the younger teen even tried to invent a story about Mr Cabrie attacking him with an emergency hammer, to argue that he had stabbed him in self-defence.
Justice Peter Davis determined the younger teen's offending was particularly heinous, which meant by law he was able to hand him a higher sentence than 10 years.
An audible gasp could be heard in the courtroom from the victim's friends and family.
'Uber and taxi drivers on-call victims', court heard
Porter pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter in April this year, as well as unlawful use of a motor vehicle, armed robbery and arson.
In March, his co-accused, who cannot be named under the state's youth justice laws, pleaded guilty to one count of murder, unlawful use of a motor vehicle, arson and armed robbery.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Davis cited the need to deter offending against taxi and uber drivers who were vulnerable.
"He [Mr Cabrie] was in a completely vulnerable position when you attacked him," he said.
"They are in reality on-call victims," he said.
A vigil was held for Mr Cabrie shortly after his death. (ABC Wide Bay: Lucy Loram)
'It's a nightmare we wake up to every day'
Speaking outside the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Scott Cabrie's brother, Ian, said it was a disappointing outcome.
"Fifteen years was more than we expected but the most disappointing thing is he is only going to serve 60 per cent of that," he said.
Scott Cabrie's brother Ian (left) and his best friend Cameron Thomas (right) spoke outside the courthouse on Friday. (ABC News: Arianna Levy)
The best friend of Mr Cabrie, Cameron Thomas, agreed but went further to say: "It's an absolute joke that these guys will get out of prison in under 10 years, it's cold-blooded murder and these guys walk in under 10 years."
"Until it happens to you or your family, you are not going to know what this system is and how broken it is," he said.
The family said if there was an option to appeal the sentence, they would consider it.
"Scott is a legend in our community on the Fraser Coast, he would give you the shirt off his back and for this to happen to him is still unbelievable," Mr Thomas said.
"It's a nightmare we wake up to every day".