A man with a violent criminal history has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing his sister in her North Queensland home.
Images used with permission of Ms Bong's family.
Dennis William Sore, 43, was found guilty of murder in the Supreme Court in Townsville.
He was convicted of stabbing his older sister Samantha Rose Bong, 49, six times in the living room of her Pimlico unit in February 2020.
Their mother Veronica Sore told the court she was in the apartment on the night of the murder.
"I live with this every day and every night, and it will be with me until the day I die and in the grave myself," Ms Sore said in a victim impact statement.
"I can see my girl's face every night.
"A beautiful smiling face, one that I could not save and never see again."
During the seven-day trial, the court heard Ms Sore had been drinking and dancing with her adult children at a hotel in the hours before her daughter's death.
"My life will never be the same again," she said.
A violent history
The court heard Sore had been convicted of two previous wounding offences, including one instance where he pulled a family member forward by the hair and stabbed them in the back multiple times.
"Then he also placed the knife against [their] throat and threatened to kill [them]," Crown prosecutor Andrew Walklate said.
The court heard Sore had committed multiple serious assaults against police, including throwing a chair and punching a female officer.
Defence barrister Ted Bassett said Sore's history of alcohol abuse, homelessness and neglect was a "tragedy all around".
Lasting impacts
Justice David North sentenced Sore to life in prison without parole.
"Yours was a violent, sustained attack upon your sister with a knife," Justice North said.
"Your actions will have lasting consequences of your family … the tragedy for them is that you didn't stop to think on that night when you walked to the kitchen, opened the drawer and withdrew a knife."
Sore's three years in pre-sentence custody will be declared as time already served.
Ms Bong's sister Sharlene Sore said her brother harboured "too much hate in his heart for Samantha".
"I haven't been myself since this happened, it feels like a nightmare that I'm trying to get out of my head," Ms Sore said in her victim impact statement.
"I will never get a chance to say goodbye to tell her I love her [Samantha] one last time."
