Prostitute killer Jule Patrick Burns will serve a minimum 17 years in jail before being deported for a brutal murder in Christchurch last April.
Burns, 31, a South African immigrant, was found guilty by a jury after an 11-day trial last month of murdering 36-year-old prostitute and drug addict Susan Gail Sutherland, known as Suzie.
His first trial was abandoned in December when Justice Lester Chisholm declared a mistrial without giving a reason in open court.
In the High Court at Christchurch today, Justice John Hansen granted an application by the Crown for an extended minimum non-parole period.
Justice Hansen said he concurred with the jury's verdict, but Burns, "notwithstanding overwhelming evidence", still maintained his innocence.
No one would know what really happened in a vacant central Christchurch section just after 5am last April 16.
"The only person who can enlighten us is you and you have chosen not to do that," he told Burns.
At his trial, Burns admitted having sex with Ms Sutherland, but claimed it had been earlier in the night, and that he was at a nightclub about 5am when she was strangled to death and her naked body dumped face down in mud and leaves.
Justice Hansen said telling evidence from a pathologist gave an indication of the brutality of Ms Sutherland's death. Dr Martin Sage, who had 25 years' experience, had told the court Ms Sutherland's injuries to her larynx and throat were at the "top end of the scale" for such injuries.
That, the judge said, "speaks volumes for the force and strength used" by Burns as he throttled the prostitute he'd hired for $80. He said there was also "graphic evidence" from two witnesses who heard Ms Sutherland cry out as she fought for her life.
Burns had been out drinking with friends and was "on the hunt for sex at a price you were prepared to pay," he said.
Women who worked as prostitutes did so by choice and Justice Hansen said he accepted that, but Ms Sutherland was more vulnerable than others who took up her profession because of her long addiction to drugs. He said he was satisfied Ms Sutherland was "particularly vulnerable".
Victim impact reports showed that Ms Sutherland's family felt some guilt that they should have done more for her.
"They should not feel that," Justice Hansen told Burns.
"Her tragic death was the responsibility of you and you alone, notwithstanding your claims of innocence."
- NZPA
Sutherland's murderer sentenced
AdvertisementAdvertise with NZME.