THE man who delivered the fatal blow to Kangaroo Flat mother-of-four Samantha Kelly has been sentenced to 16 years’ jail.
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Peter James Arthur, 45, was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Bendigo on Wednesday, and will serve a minimum non-parole period of 13 years.
Arthur showed no emotion as Justice Lex Lasry delivered the sentence.
Arthur murdered Ms Kelly with a hammer in bungalow at the rear of the property they lived in on Wesley Street, Kangaroo Flat, around January 22 last year.
In his remarks, Justice Lasry said Ms Kelly was a vulnerable woman, and the motive behind her murder was “extraordinary”.
“This was a vicious calculated and planned killing by you, urged by your accomplices, and carried out for an entirely bizarre reason,” he said.
“Your conduct is to be condemned.
“You launched a vicious attack on a defenceless woman and did nothing to explain, in any sense, what you did to her.
“Your action has left four vulnerable young children motherless.”
Arthur struck Ms Kelly six or seven times to the head with a hammer, and partially buried her body in a dry creek bed in Shelbourne.
He took part in a cover-up with police and the media, before leading police to the body of Ms Kelly more than two weeks after her murder.
Arthur lived at the property with Ms Kelly, her four children and two others.
Arthur has served 462 days in pre-sentence custody and will be eligible for parole in 2029.