THE man who killed his parents and teenage sister has been jailed for at least 35 years but, for Christopher Rowe, there can never be justice.

In a powerful Facebook post yesterday morning, Christopher - sole survivor of Kapunda's murdered Rowe family - said no prison term could ever make up for what he has lost.

"Nothing changes," Christopher, left, wrote. "It doesn't matter if he gets one or 100 years, my family isn't coming back."

"You (Downie) have destroyed my life and everybody's life around me (who) cared for and loved my family.

"Whatever you get will never be enough."

Downie, 20, had previously pleaded guilty to murdering Andrew, Rose and Chantelle Rowe at their home in Harriet St, Kapunda, in November 2010.

He showed no emotion yesterday as Justice John Sulan jailed him for life with a 35-year non-parole period. Justice Sulan said that had Downie not pleaded guilty, his minimum term would have been 42 years.

Downie's claims of contrition did nothing to ease the pain of the Rowe and Maurici families yesterday. They were caught off-guard when, in sentencing, Justice Sulan recounted the Rowe family's final minutes in detail.

"The attack upon each of them has been described as a frenzied attack, but that does not adequately describe what occurred," he said.

Downie, he said, broke into the home with the intention of having sex with Chantelle, 16.

"I am satisfied that you held an attraction towards Chantelle Rowe (and) that any relationship, other than that of a friend, was a figment of your desire and imagination," he said.

"Chantelle ... did not encourage you, nor did she at any time become engaged in a relationship with you."

He said Andrew Rowe became aware of Downie's intrusion and confronted him. Downie took a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Mr Rowe 29 times, including once in the back. He next attacked Rose, stabbing her 50 times.

"You killed (her) simply because she witnessed your attack on her husband," he said.

He then found a "terrified" Chantelle hiding under her bed and stabbed her multiple times. When she regained consciousness and tried to resist him, Downie stabbed her with a second knife and raped her.

The detail of that attack sparked outrage in the courtroom, with Chantelle's family members yelling "you will die" and "they are going to have you" at Downie.

Justice Sulan said Downie did not exhibit "any of the criminological characteristics" of typical defendants.

"The murder of three innocent victims must carry with it a severe sentence," he said.

"I do not accept that your conduct was from someone who was not thinking rationally."

Justice Sulan said the "cold-blooded, merciless attack upon Chantelle" was "a chilling act".

Outside court, cousin Kylie Duffield read a statement on Christopher Rowe's behalf.

"Whilst many feel my family and I have reached some form of justice today, I find it hard to agree," it said.

"The meaning of justice is the quality of being just and fair, or the punishment being proportionate to the offence. The lives of my dad, mum and sister (being) viciously taken by someone of sound mind qualified this bastard, Jason Downie, to 35 years non-parole, whilst my family and I continue to serve life.

"Please explain to me the 'justice' in this."

He said he could only be grateful he and his supporters had been spared a trial.

"We can close this chapter and now we can start to focus our strength on keeping mum, dad and Channy's memories alive.

"I can slowly try to find my own way to survive this."

ONE OF THE STATE'S MOST NOTORIOUS KILLERS

Jason Downie's horrific crime and lengthy sentence means he has entered the pantheon of South Australia's most notorious killers.

The state's longest non-parole period is 39-and-a-half years, imposed upon Michael Barry Fyfe.

Fyfe's record is the result of multiple crimes - he killed another prisoner while awaiting sentence for attempted murder.

He has spent more than 15 years of that time in solitary confinement in the maximum-security G Division.

Snowtown "bodies-in-the-barrels" serial killers John Justin Bunting and Robert Joe Wagner were jailed for life, and the Supreme Court declined to set non-parole periods.

Killers Angelika Gavare, Michelle Burgess and Edward Yost each received non-parole periods in excess of 30 years.

Downie, 20, had previously pleaded guilty to three counts of murder.

In the early hours of November 8, 2010, he gained access to the Rowe's home - on Harriet St, Kapunda - before killing them.

Downie sexually assaulted Chantelle, 16, as he stabbed her at least 33 times.

He then stripped the girl of her bloody, torn clothes and redressed her.

The body of Chantelle's father, Andrew, was found at the end of the kitchen bench - he had been stabbed, slashed and cut 29 times.

His wife, Rose, was found just metres away.

Experts concluded she had been stabbed at least 50 times in two separate attacks, and likely while she was crawling on her hands and knees.

Pieces of the knife or knives used in the attacks were found lodged in Andrew's and Rose's bodies.

Experts further concluded Downie had fled the scene in his socks after trying unsuccessfully to clean up the blood.

The only witness account of the murders came from the family's neighbour, who heard Rose scream "help" three times just after 1am.

He reported hearing the sound of "someone falling to the floor", followed by Andrew's screams, and then silence.

The only surviving member of the family was Chantelle's older brother, Christopher.

At the time of the murders, he had been on a Queensland holiday with his fiancee, and learned of the deaths through Facebook.

He chose to honour his family's memory through tattoos on both his arms.

"In loving memory of Chantelle Marie Rowe, gone but not forgotten," read the markings on his left arm.

"In loving memory of Andrew Peter Rowe (and) Rosemary Joy Rowe, forever in my heart," read the other.

Downie returned to work the day after the murders, blaming scratches up and down his arms on a cycling accident.

Five days later, a TV camera crew filmed him visiting a memorial for the family and pausing to look at the flowers and cards.

He was arrested on November 16, 2010, after voluntarily attending Kapunda Police Station at the request of Major Crime detectives.

A suppression order was immediately placed on his name and image but proved useless - Downie's identity was published throughout the internet.

A search of his personal websites revealed a basketball-obsessed, horror-movie-loving teenager who referred to the regional town as "Krapunda".

He showed no emotion in his initial court appearances, be they in person or via video-link.

Finally, the day before the one-year anniversary of the murders, Downie's cool facade broke.

Asked to enter pleas to the charges, he swallowed hard before replying "guilty".

Though relieved by the confession, Major Crime detectives took the unusual step of commenting on the case prior to sentencing.

"His guilty pleas should not be seen as any sign of remorse, on his part, for three murders which I think were of a truly savage nature," Detective Superintendent Grant Moyle said on December 13.

"(They do) mean many people will not have to recount the nature of the crime scene (and) for the relatives and police officers involved, that's a relief.

"The family members are suffering, and they will suffer more."

Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras, QC, took an even more unusual step and asked the Supreme Court to order Downie to re-enter his guilty pleas.

This was, he said, because of conversations - intercepted by police - the killer had with his mother and brother.

Mr Pallaras said that, from jail, Downie wrote to his mother claiming he had pleaded guilty only because police would not believe the truth.

He said he had driven by Chantelle's home and noticed blood on the walls, and had then run inside to find Andrew and Rose both dead.

"I saw Chantelle's feet under the bed ... she was alive, I put her in bed," he wrote.

"She had cuts everywhere ... she said 'help' and she died in my arms.

"I f..ked up, mum, I'm sorry, I should have rung the police."

Mr Pallaras said Downie had repeated those lies to his brother even after pleading guilty.

He identified the "real killer" as a man dressed in "dark clothing with a green shopping bag", whom he'd claimed to have seen in the area.

"He lied to police, he lied to his mother, he lied to his brother, he lied to his psychologist - he has lied to everyone who has spoken to him about this case," Mr Pallaras said last month.

"Your Honour will be waiting for an explanation that might begin to make sense of these killings ... I regret that you will be waiting in vain.

"We have a vicious killing, followed by a vicious killing, followed by a vicious killing ... there is only one man who knows why he wreaked such vengeance on this family and, to this day, he has not given those details to police."

Mr Pallaras said that, as far as could be determined, Downie was motivated by sexual obsession.

He said Chantelle had been dating a teenager named Dylan Pratt, who was friends with Downie.

Downie pestered Chantelle on her Facebook page and repeatedly drove past her house - unwanted attention she endured for Dylan's sake.

"Downie was, it seems, fantasising over the true nature of their relationship," Mr Pallaras said.

"He was becoming increasingly sexually infatuated by Chantelle.

"Everything (in the evidence) suggests he was unrequitedly sexually attracted to Chantelle, which may form the beginning of an explanation."

Greg Mead, SC, for Downie, said the case was simple.

"The explanation is as old as humanity itself - ordinary, unremarkable, common jealousy," he said.

"Faced with resistance from Andrew and Rose Rowe, he seems to have lost total control ... he obviously went completely berserk that night."

Mr Mead said his client was remorseful about his actions and had suffered "post-traumatic amnesia" after the murders.

He also insisted the crimes were not premeditated.

Downie, he said, believed Dylan was in the house and had gone there seeking a confrontation over Chantelle's affections.

"(Downie) did not go there armed and did not intend to use knives against them," he said.

"He did not intend a sexual assault, though he may well have been intending to further a relationship with Chantelle."

Downie was once again emotionless during the sentencing submissions.

He did not react to Christopher Rowe's victim impact statement, in which the grieving man detailed how much he missed his family.

"In the future, getting married will be hard, having children will be hard ... my mum and dad will not be there to be the grandparents they wanted to be," his statement read.

Christopher also paid tribute to his sister, Chantelle, who "couldn't wait to be 18".

"I planned to teach her to drive when I got back from my Queensland holiday," he wrote. "Now I will not get the chance to do that.

"Chantelle took (lots) of photos of our family and, now, that's all I have ... I feel empty. No matter what anyone does, it's not going to bring them back or change it."

Downie's expression changed, however, when Andrew's sister, Sue Mahoney, confronted him across the court room.

She had just one question for the young man who killed her beloved brother: "Why?"

"It consumes my every waking moment ... (medication) doesn't help or lessen my hatred," Mrs Mahoney said.

"I feel so much anger, hate and dislike toward Jason Downie and I will never forgive him. We have to live with this loss for the rest of our lives ... it's only fair he serves the rest of his (in jail)."

Mrs Mahoney's words struck home - Downie glared at her, then leaned forward and scowled, as she bemoaned his "right" to go on living.

Rose Rowe's brother, Ray Maurici, also struck home when he called Downie "an animal".

The killer scowled as Mr Maurici dubbed him a remorseless killer "all because you couldn't have my niece".

The day after sentencing submissions, the Supreme Court released a copy of Downie's hand-written apology to The Advertiser.

"First of all I would like to apologise for my recent actions on November 8th 2010," the letter, written in January 2011, reads.

"I have caused so much pain not only in my own family but many others ... this whole situation is eating me alive.

"I had a career, car, friends and most important I had my family ... now due to my actions I have nothing.

"I have hurt a lot of people for what I've done ... I know that no matter what my sentence I may get (sic) it will never be enough.

"As much as I hate to say it but (sic) I deserve anything and everything that is going to happen to me.

"I want you to know that if I could turn back time and fix my wrongdoings (sic) I would do it in an instant, but unfortunately I can't.

"So once again I sincerely apologise for my actions from the bottom of my I'm (sic) truly sorry."

In court, Mr Pallaras rejected the letter as another lie, saying it pre-dated Downie's claims of innocence to his mother and brother.