The family of a woman beaten to death in a Palmerston North apartment by her partner say there will never be closure for them.

Photo: RNZ/Edward O'Driscoll

Jesse John Stuart Ferris-Bromley originally pleaded not guilty to the murder of 20-year-old Massey University student Virginia Rose Ford in March last year, but later admitted the lesser charge of manslaughter.

In the High Court in Wellington today, Ferris-Bromley, 23, was sentenced to eight years' prison.

Justice Clifford said Ferris-Bromley's offending was particularly sinister.

In a victim impact statement, Virginia Ford's mother Pauline Ford described how her only child's death had devastated her and her husband, John, and how she would never forgive herself for not intervening more forcefully as Ferris-Bromley came to control every part of her life.

The last time the couple saw their daughter alive was last January, when they visited her and Ferris-Bromley in Palmerston North.

Mrs Ford said she saw bruising on her daughter's arms and legs, which she explained by saying she had fallen off her bike.

When they got her body back after the post-mortem, her long hair had been shaved off and her face was covered in thick concealing make-up so the only parts of her that were recognisable were her mouth and nose.

"We have lost our beautiful daughter. No matter what the sentence is, it will never be enough for taking the life of our beloved Virginia or what was done to her in the weeks before she was killed.

"We have to live with that. Nothing can bring her back."

Photo: SUPPLIED / NZ Police

Ferris-Bromley told police that on the afternoon of the fatal attack the couple had argued about "something pathetic", related to their dinner.

He became angry because Ms Ford said something she did not believe in order to please him, and he pulled her off the bed, punched her to the floor and then around the head, neck and abdomen.

She was bleeding from the nose and mouth, so he wiped her face with a towel, but did not call an ambulance until she stopped breathing at about 10pm.

By then she had been unconscious for 45 minutes.

She could not be revived and was pronounced dead at 10.59pm.

Ongoing violence

The post-mortem found the cause of death was the blow to her abdomen, which ruptured her intestine and led to peritonitis.

According to the pathologist, it was the type of traumatic injury normally seen in car crash victims, but Ms Ford could have survived if she had received prompt medical attention.

Other injuries included a traumatic tear in her right kidney, nerve damage, 55 bruises to her front, back and arm and both eye sockets, and bleeding on the brain and fractured ribs from previous attacks, which would have caused severe chest and back pain.

Photo: RNZ/Edward O'Driscoll

At an earlier appearance, Ferris-Bromley also pleaded guilty to two charges of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm in two separate beatings just before her death.

Crown prosecutor Ben Vanderkolk said Ms Ford was subjected to ongoing violence and was in extreme pain for at least two or three weeks before the brutal attack that killed her.

"There is no suggestion she was defending herself, her reflexive capacity seems to have been significantly diminished by the time the fatal blow was inflicted."

The fact she did not seek help showed how isolated she had become, he said.

Yet she continued to attend her classes at Massey University and carry on with her daily life, which was testament to her strength of character.

Her parents remained stoic and dignified in the face of their terrible tragedy, but would probably be "forever bewildered" about what happened to their daughter, he said.

'A tragedy for all concerned'

Ferris-Bromley's lawyer, Roger Crowley, said he had "killed the woman he loved, destroyed two young lives and two families".

"From day one he has admitted what he's done... he has never tried to minimise his role, he's remorseful and insightful, it's destroyed him and he knows it's destroyed others."

Any sentence should be tempered by his lack of previous convictions and his remorse, including taking part in a restorative justice session with the Fords, he said.

Justice Clifford said it was "a tragedy for all concerned".

The Fords had lost their only child in horrible circumstances.

"It's parents' greatest fear they might have to bury their child. How much worse when the death is a violent and senseless one?"

Justice Clifford said lists found in the flat after her death, written by Ferris-Bromley, were further "chilling evidence" of the control he had over Ms Ford.

They detailed what she could do to "improve" their relationship, including "listen to Jesse" and "practice answering straight away".

"Your offending was particularly sinister... There is little doubt as to the extreme violence you inflicted on Ms Ford on the night she died."

Taking the previous attacks into account, the starting point for sentencing was 11 years.

The judge said, while he accepted Ferris-Bromley's remorse was genuine, he could not give him any reduction for his youth or lack of previous record.

"Ms Ford was also young and had an unblemished record.

"You offended against her for some time, and these actions cannot be described as youthful indiscretions."

However, he said Ferris-Bromley deserved some credit for his guilty plea and taking part in the restorative justice session with the Fords, so he was reducing the sentence to eight years in prison.

Ferris-Bromley will be eligible for parole in four years.

Detective Sergeant David Thompson, the officer in charge of the investigation, said the case had been an extremely difficult one for investigators.

"Virginia obviously suffered significantly in the last few months of her life and the discovery of this has been a source of great pain for her family.

"While Ferris-Bromley's guilty plea and sentence has spared Virginia's family the trauma of reliving those final months during a trial ... the tragedy and loss they have suffered cannot be overstated."

Ms Ford's family thanked police as well as family and friends for their support and asked for privacy.

"There will never be closure for us but we would like to be left alone so we can start to learn how to live our lives without Virginia."