Statements from Ms Kelly’s mother, brother and aunt were read to the Supreme Court in Bendigo on Monday during a hearing for Peter James Arthur, 45, who has pleaded guilty to her murder.

Arthur sat at the rear of the court as the relatives described the impact of the crime – including the confusion and despair of 39-year-old Ms Kelly’s four young children, the oldest now aged 7, who will be forced to grow up without their mother.

In a victim impact statement, Ms Kelly’s mother Vivien Kelly said she continues to be haunted by the thoughts of her daughter’s body being dumped in bushland.

“She did nothing to you, just be friends with you,” she wrote.

“I can’t call you animals because animals kill for food, not for fun, like you did to my daughter.

“How stupid did you think we were? We would have found out what you did to her, and we did, thanks to Facebook. I hope Samantha comes back and haunts you for what you did to her.”

Family members were visibly shocked when the court heard Arthur struck Ms Kelly with a hammer “six to seven times to the head, killing her”.

The murder occurred about 2am on January 21 in a bungalow at the rear of the property on Wesley Street, Kangaroo Flat.

Arthur was later seen by a neighbour disposing of a bloodied couch, where Ms Kelly was sitting when she was attacked with the hammer.

Arthur dumped her body in bushland off Bendigo-Maryborough Road, before she was eventually reported missing by her brother almost two weeks later.

The court also heard further details of the days after Ms Kelly’s murder, when Arthur was involved in a plan to enrol the four children in kindergarten and school under different names, and withdraw thousands of dollars from Ms Kelly’s bank account.

When they were enrolled in kindergarten in early February – about two weeks after the murder – Arthur was listed as the children’s “papa”.

Michael Kelly, the brother of Ms Kelly, described the day he drove to Melbourne to collect the four children after the murder and discovery of the body in early February.

The children’s heads were shaved and they had nothing but backpacks, he said, and two of the children did not know their real names.

“The day my partner and myself picked up her babies was the hardest day as a parent and big brother,” he wrote.

“The rippling effect Samantha’s death has had will haunt them for the rest of their lives.

“She was robbed in the prime of her life, just as she was pursuing her dream of being a mother.

“We were two peas in a pod, we shared so many hopes and dreams.”

Tracey Lubcke, the aunt of Ms Kelly, has attended every court session since Arthur’s arrest, making the journey from Ballarat each time.

In her statement, which she personally read to the court, Ms Lubcke said the murder had unfairly robbed four children of their loving mother.

“Sammy was a caring, loving person. She wanted to become a mum badly for years,” she said.

“When the day came when the first baby born, I waited outside... (Samantha) started to cry: ‘See what I've done Auntie Trace’.

“I felt so proud of what she had done.”

The court heard Ms Kelly named her children after some of her favourite book and movie characters, and family members often described her children as a “mini-Sammies”.

Ms Kelly had the names of her children tattooed on her arm.

Ms Lubcke said the murder had changed her life forever.

“Any time the phone rings, I think for a minute, is that Sammy? Then it all comes crashing back again. I will never hear her voice,” she said.

The court heard Arthur has been in protective custody for the majority of his time in prison, since he handed himself in to police on February 11.

He claims he was assaulted in the yard of one prison in Melbourne, and has been moved around to multiple units on multiple sites to avoid conflict with other prisoners.

Arthur was called to give evidence before Justice Lex Lasry on Monday, and was asked to reflect on his actions.

He said he was sorry to the family, and he was reminded of his actions every day.

“I reflect on what I’ve done to Samantha Kelly every day, I have flashbacks, I have nightmares about what I’ve done nearly every night,” Arthur told the court.

“If i had a chance to go back in time and have my chance not to do it, I would not do it. It’s something I regret doing every day.

“It's not just a life I’ve taken away, its a mother of four innocent children.

“I am sorry for what I’ve done… I know that nothing I will say will bring Samantha to you, and I’m sorry.”

Defence counsel Shane Gardner admitted there were “aggravating factors” to Arthur’s offending, and the murder was not spontaneous.

The plea hearing continues in Bendigo on Tuesday.

Arthur’s co-accused Christine Lyons and Ronald Lyons have pleaded not guilty to murdering Ms Kelly.

They will appear at a trial in the Supreme Court in October.