Kāpiti Coast resident Julia DeLuney has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of 18 years, for the murder of her mother, 79-year-old Helen Gregory.
Ms Deluney, 53 of Paraparaumu, was found guilty of the murder by a jury at the High Court in Wellington in July.
Justice Peter Churchman handed down the sentence on Friday afternoon, of life imprisonment with a minimum period of imprisonment (MPI) of 18 years.
He told the court that there was nothing to suggest such an MPI was manifestly unjust.
Justice Churchman said the murder involved a high level of brutality and cruelty, adding that it was a violent, frenzied and prolonged attack.
At the trial the jury heard that Ms DeLuney, worked as a school teacher until about 15 years ago, and more recently, she’d turned her hand to trading cryptocurrency.
Details of her financial activities presented in court showed she’d spent $150,000 on cryptocurrency, and her credit card balances showed she was living beyond her means.
Mrs Gregory was found dead on 24 January, 2024, at her home on Baroda Street in Khandallah.
During her trial, the Crown argued Ms DeLuney attacked her mother with a heavy object, possibly motivated by money or following a confrontation over stolen cash, and staged the scene to look like a fall from the attic.
The defence argued someone else killed her, saying there was no sign of a breakdown in their relationship that would explain a murder – but the jury did not agree.