Former Upper Hutt man jailed for murdering partner in Australia

Christine Achola holds a photo of her daughter Jackline outside the Adelaide Supreme Court during the Toby Awatere sentencing for the murder of his partner Jackline Ohide. Photo / AAP

A former Upper Hutt man, now living in Southern Australia, has been jailed for at least 20 years after strangling his partner in a jealous rage.

Toby Awatere, 37, was today sentenced for the brutal domestic violence murder of Jackline Ohide, 27, during a heated row at their Adelaide home in March 2015.

The Advertiser reported in March that a Supreme Court jury found him guilty of the 2015 murder of Ohide.

He fled after dumping her body in a friend's car and placing their two sleeping sons in the back seat.

The boys, than aged 4 and 1, discovered their dead mother when they woke several hours later and raised the alarm by beeping the car horn until a neighbour came to their aid and called police.

The jury in the Supreme Court trial took 11 hours to find him guilty, the paper reported.

The jury rejected claims the crime was triggered by "sleep deprivation" or that Ohide provoked him by refusing to move to Melbourne.

He had earlier admitted manslaughter but denied murder. He claimed he suffered from depression, jealousy, unfounded paranoia his fiancee was cheating on him, financial stress and the side effects of sleeping tablets.

- Additional reporting by AAP