A Sydney GP has been jailed for at least 20 years and three months for murdering his second wife with a lethal dose of insulin.
While Brian Kenneth Crickitt gave no visible reaction after Justice Clifton Hoeben imposed the sentence on Friday, the victim's brother David called out "hear hear judge" while people around him clapped.
The 63-year-old GP was found guilty in December of murdering Christine Crickitt late on New Year's Eve 2009 or early on New Year's Day 2010.
His third wife, Julie, who supported her husband throughout his judge-alone trial, left the NSW Supreme Court complex without making any comment.
The judge had found the GP somehow tricked Christine Crickitt, who was not a diabetic, into agreeing to be injected in the buttock for health reasons.
But he used a lethal dose of fast-acting insulin after becoming fed up with his marriage and besotted with his new lover, Linda Livermore.
In sentencing him to a maximum of 27 years, Justice Hoeben referred to the breach of trust involved due to Crickitt being the victim's husband and also her treating doctor.
"The deceased was left to die a painful death alone by someone whom she trusted to care for her," he said.
"The offender's motivation to murder his wife was essentially based on self-interest and what he perceived would make his life better in the future."
The judge referred to the need for a strong element of "general deterrence" in sentencing in this case.
"The abuse of trust which characterised this offence is not be tolerated in our community," he said.
"Medical professionals and doctors, such as the offender, who misuse the trust placed in them by those to whom they provide treatment and care by committing serious criminal acts against them, should know that they will be held accountable and will be met with heavy punishment."
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