A plasterer who murdered a couple in their home avoided hearing victim impact statements in a Melbourne court after he repeatedly yelled "sorry" at one of the victim's daughter.
Gregory Tucker, 54, and Korinne Aylward, 35, were murdered in their Moonee Ponds home in 2013 while their three children slept unharmed in another room.
Mustafa Kunduraci, 46, banged a desk and repeatedly shouted he was sorry as Mr Tucker's adult daughter, Caitlin Tucker, read out a statement on Friday in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
His outburst distressed the victims' family members who filled the gallery and prompted a short adjournment.
When the hearing resumed, Justice Jane Dixon ruled Kunduraci's Turkish translator should not translate the statements to him during proceedings.
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Justice Dixon said Kunduraci - who pleaded guilty to the murders - must read or be told of the contents at a later date.
Ms Aylward's sister, Caitlin Donovan, was disappointed Kunduraci did not have to hear the statements.
"We have one opportunity in court to make sure he hears and to make sure that the court hears how we feel and how it's affected us, and he still interrupted," she told reporters outside the court.
"It's unbelievable."
Kunduraci and Mr Tucker had been in a dispute about plastering work at the latter's home.
Mr Tucker said the work was sloppy, while Kunduraci claimed the couple owed him tens of thousands of dollars.
He went to their home with a backpack containing a knife, cable ties, duct tape, a bottle of petrol and a letter detailing his post-traumatic stress disorder, the court heard.
Defence barrister Dermot Dann said the grave crimes led to "tragic and devastating circumstances" but argued Kunduraci should not be sentenced to life in prison.
Mr Dann said his client grew up surrounded by violence and suffered depression and PTSD after being shot.
Before she was interrupted, Ms Tucker told the court of her family's difficulty explaining the murders to Mr Tucker and Ms Aylward's young children.
"To tell three little children, to tell them that their mum and dad weren't going to come home, that they were in heaven with grandma - it was the hardest thing I will ever have to do in my life," Ms Tucker said.
The hearing continues.
