The family of a man murdered by the lover they comforted after his death have had their grief compounded by the sentence he's received.
Michael Anthony O'Neill maintained a charade that Stuart Rattle was ill in bed for five days, and even made him cups of tea, after he bludgeoned and strangled his partner with a dog leash.
Victorian Supreme Court judge Elizabeth Hollingworth on Wednesday jailed O'Neill for 18 years - with a minimum of 13 - for murdering Mr Rattle then later setting their apartment on fire.
O'Neill, 48, originally claimed his business partner and lover had died in the fire but confessed to the killing after police found holes in his story.
Mr Rattle's family were "shattered" by the jail term on Wednesday.
"Stuart was at the peak of his career, his brilliance was an inspiration to many," his sister, Katrina Lewin, said outside the court.
She said he was a talented, charming and generous man whom they miss every day.
"We thought coming into this today that the sentence would never be enough to compensate adequately to represent Stuart's life," Mrs Lewin said outside court.
"It's a waste of a beautiful life."
During the trial the court heard Mr Rattle's family felt particularly betrayed because O'Neill had allowed them to comfort him. After Mr Rattle's death, O'Neill kept social engagements, business appointments and even attended a party.
He impersonated Mr Rattle on the phone and treated the dead man as if he was still alive by making him cups and tea and having conversations with his body in their South Yarra apartment.
On the night of December 9, 2013 O'Neill ordered take-away for two, and poured two bottles of wine.
Shortly before midnight he went out to buy a bag of sweets, but first he placed a burning candle on the bedroom floor next to the curtains.
In sentencing, Justice Hollingworth took into account O'Neill's fragile psychological state and the fact he was remorseful and acted on impulse.
"There's plenty of evidence that you are devastated by what you have done," Justice Hollingworth said.
She said the couple enjoyed a first-class lifestyle but "tensions (were) simmering beneath the surface".
O'Neill had been holding a frying pan when Mr Rattle called him a "frigid bitch" on the morning of December 4.
O'Neill snapped. He struck Mr Rattle's head, then wrapped a nylon dog leash around his neck.
The couple's relationship was characterised by controlling, belittling behaviour, but this did not excuse O'Neill's actions Justice Hollingworth said.
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