'House of horrors' killer jailed for 23 years

Jason Somerville. Photo / NZ Herald

The man who murdered Tisha Lowry and his wife before burying them under his Christchurch home has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum non-parole period of 23 years.

Jason Paul Somerville was sentenced for the murder of Ms Lowry and Rebecca Chamberlain at the High Court at Christchurch today.

Justice Lester Chisholm said there was no apology, no remorse and no empathy from Somerville.

"For my part, Mr Somerville, I find this absolutely incomprehensible," Justice Chisholm said.

Somerville's attitude provided an ominous indication that there is a risk he would reoffend, the judge said.

He said the harm done by Somerville was "immeasurable" and he described the sexual dimension to the killings as "sick beyond description".

"Your conduct could hardly be worse," Justice Chisholm said.

Somerville's lawyer David Ruth said his client's life did not start well. He said his client suffered a head injury in his childhood and was sexually abused as a teenager.

This gave some insight into how Somerville was made-up, he said.

From his early days, Somerville had displayed a worrying trend of strangulation being part of his response to situations he did not like or found stressful, Mr Ruth said.

Crown prosecutor Brent Stanaway said Somerville's crimes were a "depraved and sickening act" and he had shown a "callous attitude" towards the victims, particularly as he saw the anguish of Tisha Lowry's family while she was missing for a year.

In statements read to the court, family members of Ms Lowry and Ms Chamberlain told how their lives had been turned upside down and had led to problems with sleeping and depression.

Tisha Lowry's mother, Tanya Lowry, said she had been forced to postpone her own wedding twice because of the devastating effect of the loss of her daughter. Tisha was to be her maid of honour.

"I wouldn't wish the emotions this has caused me on my worst enemy.

"I can't believe [Somerville] thought he had a right to take someone's life," Ms Lowry told the court.

Tisha's sister Leanne said to Somerville: "I hate you with so much of myself that the hate I feel towards you is interfering with the rest of my life.

"I hope you have the time to think about the heinous acts you committed," she said.

Tisha's younger brother, Jacob, described Somerville as a "sad case for a human being".

"You do not deserve to be on this earth," he said.

Relatives of Ms Chamberlain said while she had her problems, she was proud of owning her own home and was looking forward to one day getting custody of her children back.

Outside court, Tanya Lowry said it had been a hard day for the family and while Somerville had been sentenced, it was not the end of the trauma for her family.

"And we would just like to get our lives back as normal as possible now," Ms Lowry said.

On behalf of Rebecca Chamberlain's family, her uncle, Peter Clifford-Marsh, said the family were pleased with the sentence and wanted to see assistance given to Somerville to carry on through his life.

Somerville, 33, pleaded guilty to the murders last November.

Somerville also admitted having sex with the bodies of his victims before burying them.

Police found the women's bodies under Somerville's Wainoni house in early September last year. Ms Lowry was murdered in September 2008 after she disappeared while walking home. Ms Chamberlain was killed on August 30, 2009.

Ms Lowry, a neighbour of Somerville's, had been missing for almost a year when police found her body in a shallow grave alongside Ms Chamberlain.

He told police he strangled Ms Lowry, who lived two doors down, after she knocked on his door and he invited her inside.

The police summary of facts detailed what occurred.

"Once inside the address a struggle has taken place, [Somerville] grabbed Tisha around her throat with his hands."

Ms Lowry struggled with Somerville, kicking and punching him, but he tightened his stranglehold.

"[Somerville] increased the pressure of the strangle to a point where the victim was no longer resisting and had lost consciousness.

[Somerville] continued to squeeze her throat until he was certain she was no longer breathing," the summary of facts states.

He then forced a pair of his wife's underpants into Ms Lowry's throat, before removing her jeans and underwear and having sex with her.

Somerville also told police he killed his wife after she refused to have sex with him.