A man who murdered his partner in a brutal attack that lasted more than two days has admitted his actions were "a form of torture" and intended to punish.
Tiffany Spence, a 36-year-old mother of five, was killed by her partner in September 2022 after a brutal, prolonged assault. She had made repeated attempts to seek help before her death.
Adam James Britt, 41, pleaded guilty to murder on the first day of his trial earlier this year, but the court is yet to determine whether he intended to kill Ms Spence.
The defence case is that he intended to at least cause her serious harm, but not death.
When Britt called paramedics on September 9, 2022, from the Reid unit he shared with Ms Spence, he repeatedly lied about how she had been injured.
He "strategically placed" a hammer in the severely beaten woman's left hand, after saying she had hit herself with the weapon.
A range of fatal injuries, caused by Britt, were found to have been sustained over a number of days. Her cause of death was found to be blunt force trauma.
Forty per cent of Ms Spence's body surface area involved bruising, abrasions and other injuries. She also suffered a number of fractures and a great deal of blood loss.
Giving evidence in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, September 29, Britt said he downloaded pornography while Ms Spence was "in a bad state" and unable to move from his repeated assaults.
"[It was] after that when I realised she'd stopped breathing," he said.
The prosecution has alleged she may have already been dead before he downloaded the sexual content.
During cross-examination, Britt was shown photographs he took of his partner during her protracted assault and murder.
He admitted he became "angrier and angrier" throughout the prolonged assault and claimed he took the photos "to show her the damage" he had inflicted when angry.
When asked how he expected to show her when she had been so badly beaten her eyes had swollen shut, Britt replied: "I did intend for her eyes to unswell over time, I didn't expect her to pass away."
On Tuesday, defence barrister Philip Massey argued there "would be no point in taking the photos if his intention was not for her to survive".
ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Victoria Engel SC pointed out factors she said proved Britt had an intention to kill Ms Spence.
These included the severe level of injuries he inflicted using his fists, a hammer, and "an implement".
The hammer was engraved with the words "Adam & Tiff 2021".
Britt gave evidence that while a blood-covered rope and whip had been found in the Reid home, he couldn't remember what caused injuries to Ms Spence's back.
"It could've been from a umm ... curtain rod," he said.
"I remember holding it at one point."
Ms Engel urged the court to consider handing Britt a life sentence of imprisonment for the murder.
"Not only was it prolonged ... it is not trite to say these circumstances it would have been a terrifying death," Ms Engel said.
"The offender was intent on not letting her leave him to the point where if that meant murdering her then that was something he was intent to do."
When Ms Engel asked Britt what was going through his mind during the attack, he replied: "Several different things ... I don't know, I can't explain."
In a letter he read to the court, the killer said there was "no way for me to express how sincerely sorry I am for my actions".
"In no way do I seek forgiveness for what I have done, I don't deserve it and in no way is this letter to you in any way self fulfilling.
"It was not my intention, the fact is that is what happened."
Chief Justice Lucy McCallum indicated she did not expect to be able to hand down Britt's sentence until at least December.
She said she "doesn't usually let that much time pass" but the court was "drowning at the moment".
