BENDIGO woman Kate Stone has been sentenced to 34 years' imprisonment, after dousing her partner Darren Reid in enamel thinner and setting him alight, killing him.
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Supreme Court Justice Lesley Taylor sentenced Stone to 34 years' jail, with a non-parole period of 28 years.
Stone was sentenced in the Supreme Court in Bendigo on Friday, almost eight months after a jury found her guilty of murdering the 45-year-old.
Justice Taylor said the act was a most serious example of the offence of murder.
"The manner in which you murdered Mr Reid was vicious,'' she said.
Justice Taylor said Mr Reid had the right to be safe in his own home and Stones actions are a violation of the sanctity of the home, describing domestic violence as abhorrent.
Mr Reid was attacked late on the night of December 18, 2016, when he was set alight on the back porch of the Long Gully home he shared with Stone and some of their five children.
Mr Reid suffered burns to most of his body, including his upper airways, and died the following day at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.
The motive for the murder has not been determined, but Stone continues to insist she is innocent and plans to appeal the jury's verdict.
Stone's lawyer Peter Kilduff said he had instructions to appeal. Leaving court, Stone continued to maintain her innocence.
At a pre-sentence hearing last week, Mr Reid's family spoke of the devastation his murder had wreaked.
"The pain in my heart is unbearable," Mr Reid's mother Valda Webb said in a statement read out by Crown prosecutor Melissa Mahady.
The Crown submitted Mr Reid's murder was an extremely serious example of the offence.
The lies Stone told following Mr Reid's death, the use of fire and the presence of children at the home at the time were all aggravating features, Ms Mahady said.
Justice Lesley Taylor also said Mr Reid's murder was at the "top end of the scale" in terms of seriousness.
Defence counsel Peter Kilduff said there was no evidence as to the extent of premeditation.
The pain in my heart is unbearable.
- Valda Webb, mother of murdered man Darren Reid
READ MORE: The trial
- Day 1: Murder trial begins for woman accused of setting partner alight
- Day 2: Murdered Bendigo man in fear for his life, mother tells court
- Day 3: Couple heard yelling in hours before fatal Long Gully fire
- Day 4: Murdered man told paramedic he did not know attacker, court hears
- Day 5: Daughter says three men set father on fire in Long Gully
- Day 6: Murder accused told police men were to blame for death
- Day 7: Man denies talking 'revenge' after confrontation with murdered man
- Day 8: Man not in area night of fatal Long Gully attack, court hears
- Day 9: Neighbours heard death threats before murder, court hears
- Day 10: Man tells court he was home the night of Darren Reid's murder
- Day 11: Long Gully murder accused said she 'did it', neighbour tells court
- Day 12: Long Gully murder trial hears DNA evidence
- Day 13: Fire expert gives evidence to Long Gully murder trial
- Day 14: Murder accused's police interview played in court
- Day 15: Forensic evidence points to guilt, prosecution says
- Day 16: Murdered man's words show Stone is not guilty, defence says
- The verdict: Long Gully woman found guilty of murder
More to come.
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