KEY POINTS:
Jurors at a London court were in tears as the brother of murdered New Zealand woman Cathy Marlow, sobbing, read out an emotional victim impact statement on behalf of their father.
He told the court how the victim's mother, Claire, lost her battle with cancer just months after hearing of her daughter's violent death, and added: "The man who carried out this crime is as cruel as he is callous," The Times newspaper reported.
"I feel as though all the things I have taught the children about love, respect and being a thoroughly decent human being is wasted in our society.
"We live in a world dominated by money, hatred, evil and destruction.
"This man did not just murder Cathy, he destroyed a whole family."
American Matthew Fagan, a former work colleague of Miss Marlow, was found guilty of her murder yesterday and jailed for a minimum of 26 years.
Miss Marlow, a 28-year-old finance manager, was beaten over the head with a blunt instrument by Fagan when she caught him stealing computers. He then throttled her with a red scarf knitted by her mother.
She had gone into work on a Saturday to catch up after a holiday to Egypt. Her body was found in a shower cubicle at the offices of Research Now in Stockwell, south London, in January last year.
Fagan, 33, of Bermondsey, south east London, had admitted burglary but denied murder.
Fagan, a former web production manager, who worked on the next set of desks to her, had been sacked from the market research company for incompetence.
In court, Fagan admitted struggling with Miss Marlow, and claimed he helped an accomplice tie her up but left her still alive and with the other man, but jurors rejected his story.
The victim's father Bernie, stepmother Olivia, brother Brendan and sister Debbie were all in court to see him convicted.
Fagan, who had lived in Washington and Canada before coming to Britain in 2000, was caught quickly through a lucky match to the police DNA database.
In November 2005 a diligent officer took a swab from him when he was arrested for being drunk and disorderly even though at that time samples were not routinely taken for such minor offences.
When he gave evidence, Fagan, speaking in a strong American accent, said he had been married since 2003 to a German woman.
He admitted falling heavily into debt after losing his job and filing for bankruptcy.
Fagan said he had been earning cash working for a removal company and carrying out burglaries on the side.
He thought his former employers would be ripe pickings for a burglary.
But Detective Chief Inspector Damian Allain said Fagan was a "devious and callous" man who had told a tissue of lies.
Richard Whittam QC, prosecuting, told a jury: "It was her diligence going to work on that Saturday that cost Cathy Marlow her life."
Outside court Miss Marlow's father Bernie said the verdict would bring "some closure in seeing that justice has been done".
"However it won't bring our Cathy back," he added. "She lives in our hearts and minds every day.
"We lost our Cathy - she has gone forever. That will never change," the BBC reported.
- NZPA
