Moments before his green-eyed ex-partner chopped him to death with an axe, a man changed the contact name of his new lover to "Mark" on his phone.
The 34-year-old Sydney woman, who cannot be named as it would identify her children, has been sentenced to 27 years in prison for murdering her ex in a jealous quest for revenge.
"It is clear the deceased's senseless death has had a severe impact on those who love him," Supreme Court Justice Natalie Adams said at the woman's sentencing on Friday.
"No sentence could possibly ease the grief of those that were close to him."
She pleaded guilty to murdering her long-term partner as he was lying down looking at his iPad in a Sydney townhouse in September 2020.
The woman earlier made Google searches about murder, including "Killing someone with axe what part of body to go for".
At the time she was subject to an AVO after her partner told police she stabbed him with a meat cleaver, while he had three convictions involving violence against her.
The pair's on and off relationship was "volatile" and "marred with domestic violence," the judge found.
He had been convicted of violent offences against her in 2010, 2011 and in March 2019.
According to the agreed facts of the case, he was with a different woman when his ex-partner rang and messaged him.
He told the woman it was his ex-partner, describing her as dangerous being both violent and abusive.
"She hit me with a big machete, she is f***ing wild," he said.
She sent 19 text messages to the effect of suggesting he was having sex with someone and tried to call him from around 5.30am to 1pm.
Before the murder, she did more searches including "What is the fastest part of body to kill someone with the axe".
In the early evening, she called a cab to take her to Bunnings, asked the driver to wait, went inside and bought a Trojan brand half axe.
She later sent texts including: "You guys might hear something on the news I might be in prison I can't deal with it any more".
She went to the police station, confessing to the murder but told a string of lies including that her partner had produced a knife.
He was found to have died from multiple chop wounds to his head.
The woman appeared via video link in court, showing little emotion during her sentencing.
She will be eligible for parole in November, 2039.
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