KEY POINTS:
The court process may be over but for the parents of slain Wanganui woman Tania McKenzie the pain of losing their daughter will never end.
Ms McKenzie's naked and brutally beaten body was found floating in the Whanganui River on January 7, 2005 after a night out to
celebrate her 20th birthday.
Randle, 28, was found guilty in March of murder and two counts of sexual violation after a trial in Wellington.
In the High Court at Wanganui today the skinhead with a prominent swastika tattoo on his neck was sentenced to preventive detention on each of the sexual violation charges, with a minimum period of imprisonment of six years, and life imprisonment for murder, with a minimum period of 19 years.
Ms McKenzie's parents Naelene and Garry chose to read their victim impact statements aloud in court -- as they struggle to get on with lives torn apart by Randle's actions.
Mrs McKenzie said birthdays were a big deal in their family and she and Tania had been looking forward to celebrating her 20th together.
"We had both been looking forward to having a mother and daughter bonding day."
Instead she spent the morning searching for her missing daughter until her worst fears were confirmed with the discovery of Tania's body in the river.
"A shadow came over my soul that day," she said.
"The pain can come in waves and suck the very breath out of my body."
Tania was a "remarkable girl", she said.
"It sounds silly now, but she wanted the most that life could give her, and she had a way of making her dreams a reality."
She recounted memories from when her children were young which were now tainted.
"There were many special times and now memories that were once happy will always be sad."
She said she has dreamed about Tania's attack and the "sheer terror" of her last moments.
"She had tried to cry out but no one but evil heard her."
For the family the pain was ever present.
"We struggle to go on acting normally in our abnormal world.
"We will never get over this."
Mrs McKenzie read a poem written by one of Tania's sisters.
"Sweet dreams my darling sister," it began.
It was Tania's father Garry who had to identify his daughter's body at the morgue.
"What I saw wasn't my beautiful Tania," he said, close to breaking down.
He described her horrific injuries and said that final memory of her in the morgue was how he now saw her every day.
"Tania was degraged, she was humiliated in the worst way you can imagine."
He spoke of his pain at imagining his daughter's fear as she was being beaten and knew she would die.
"I wasn't there to protect her," he said.
"She was stolen from us and I can't shake the black anger I feel about her senseless death."
Being thrust into the media spotlight as police hunted Tania's killer was an added stress.
"I can't explain how difficult it is to talk to the whole of New Zealand when you are dealing with incredible grief," he said, visibly shaking and with his wife at his side for support.
"Going to the dairy to buy bread and milk was an ordeal. People would look at us and look away from us."
He said his daughter's death was more than tragic, it was needless.
"No one deserves to die like she did."
Tania's death had put a strain on their marriage and had a big impact on Tania's siblings and friends.
"We are a normal, working class family and our lives have always centred around our children."
Mrs McKenzie thanked everyone involved in finding and convicting her daughter's killer.
"Everyone gave our Tania her dignity back in death."
Before sentencing Randle, Justice Ronald Young acknowledged the McKenzies for the bravery and dignity they had shown today and during the trial.
Outside court, investigation head Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Oxnam said to speak about their daughter in such a public forum showed extraordinary courage.
The McKenzies were "normal, ordinary people" and Mr Oxnam admired the bravery they had shown throughout the time he had known them.
- NZPA
