A Hong Kong woman who manipulated a friend into shooting dead the Melbourne man she was preparing to marry has been jailed for 21 years.

Key points: In sentencing, Judge Paul Coghlan described Yu Tung Lo as a "very manipulative person"

In sentencing, Judge Paul Coghlan described Yu Tung Lo as a "very manipulative person" Lo had lied to a friend that she had been raped by her partner and said she "seriously wanted him dead"

Lo had lied to a friend that she had been raped by her partner and said she "seriously wanted him dead" She will be eligible for parole after serving 17 years in jail

Yu Tung Lo, 39, convinced her friend to murder Paul Hogan, 48, who was shot dead as he sat in his van outside his home at Bacchus Marsh, north west of Melbourne, in May 2016.

Lo had convinced the shooter, Daniel Duhovic, to carry out the hit by feeding him lies, including that she had been raped by her partner and that he planned to rape and kill Duhovic's young daughter.

The court heard Lo had sent Duhovic a text message "carefully designed" to stoke Duhovic's animosity towards Mr Hogan, who he had never met.

In sentencing Lo for Mr Hogan's murder, Victorian Supreme Court judge Paul Coghlan described her as a "very manipulative person" who had been the driving force behind the killing.

"This was a pointless killing and that's more hurtful to those who are left behind," Justice Coghlan said.

The court heard Lo had told a number of people she wanted Mr Hogan dead in the weeks before his murder, including in text messages to Duhovic.

"I need to kill someone," Lo wrote in a message.

"Nah, I seriously want him dead," she later told him.

At the time of his death, Mr Hogan was preparing to marry Lo to allow her to continue living in Australia after her working visa had expired.

Accused told lies to killer

The pair had a tumultuous relationship and would often argue, the court heard.

Mr Hogan had physically assaulted Lo on the night before his death and taken her phone, where he found the messages to Duhovic.

The next morning, Lo sent Duhovic a text message claiming she had been beaten and raped by Mr Hogan.

Duhovic arrived at the couple's house armed with a shotgun and was directed by Lo to where Mr Hogan was sitting in his car.

Before she was arrested, Lo went to the Royal Women's Hospital and falsely reported she had been raped by Mr Hogan.

She went on to sign a 25-page police statement.

The court heard she had been physically assaulted by Mr Hogan the night before his death.

Paul Hogan was found shot dead in Bacchus Marsh in May, 2016. ( ABC News )

But Lo pleaded guilty to perjury over her claim she had been raped by Mr Hogan and that he had threatened to kill her.

'I don't get parole'

Outside court, Mr Hogan's mother, Val Hogan, said the sentence was the best she could have hoped for.

"I have worked tirelessly for three years hoping that she would get a big sentence because she was the ringleader, she lied so much," Ms Hogan said.

"Thanks to the court and thanks to God because I asked him to help me."

Ms Hogan called for the introduction of mandatory life sentences for murderers.

"I have to live with this for the rest of my life — I don't get out on parole," she said.

The court heard Lo suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression and is being housed in a psychiatric unit in prison.

Justice Coghlan said if it was not for several mitigating factors working in her favour, including her poor mental health, he would have imposed a greater sentence.

Lo will spend a minimum of 17 years in jail.

Duhovic is currently serving a maximum of 15 years and three months in prison for his role in Mr Hogan's murder.