Wannabe serial killer gets 20 years

A Victorian man who fantasised about becoming a notorious Australian serial killer has been jailed for 20 years for killing his best mate.

John McKenzie, 22, stabbed his 26-year-old friend Todd Leslie Laver in the chest with a hunting knife for no apparent reason on December 1, 2006.

A court on Friday was told McKenzie had fantasised for three or four years about murdering someone and about becoming a notorious Australian serial killer.

"You murdered him in cold blood to gratify your perverted interest in killing another human being," Victorian Supreme Court Justine Stephen Kaye said.

Justice Kaye sentenced McKenzie to a maximum of 20 years with a minimum of 15.