House of horrors recalled for double-killer's sentencing

The shocking events from Christchurch's House of Horrors will be revisited tomorrow as double-killer Jason Paul Somerville is due to be sentenced. But no punishment dished out to him will be enough for some.

Somerville, 33, could face an open-ended sentence of preventive detention when he goes before the High Court in Christchurch.

Last November he admitted killing his wife Rebecca Chamberlain, 35 - named in court documents under her married name of Somerville - and Tisha Lowry, 28, and having sex with the bodies before burying them under his house.

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.

Somerville's only explanation to police for his actions was that he was angry at the pair, in his wife's case for not agreeing to have sex with him.

Thirteen people related to the two victims have written statements for the court about how it has affected them, and many of these statements will be read during the sentencing tomorrow.

Jason Hall, whose family home adjoined the house of horrors, has told the Herald how Somerville used to drop hints about what he had done, making comments about the disappearance of Ms Lowry such as "what if they've got her locked in a dungeon and they're having sex with her".

Asked what sentence he felt Somerville deserved, Mr Hall said his preference would be for the death penalty, if that option existed. "I don't think we actually have a strong enough punishment for what he has done."

Mr Hall's family were forced to leave their home after the bodies were found, and Somerville's house has been demolished after being repeatedly targeted by arsonists. The land could end up being turned into a memorial park.

Ms Chamberlain has left behind three children in the care of families in Taupo.