The partner of Sydney siege gunman Man Haron Monis has been jailed for at least 33 years for the stabbing murder of his former wife in the stairwell of an apartment block.
In the NSW Supreme Court on Wednesday, Justice Peter Johnson sentenced Amirah Droudis, 37, to a maximum of 44 years in prison. With time already served, she will be eligible for release in 2047.
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After a trial before a judge only, Droudis was found guilty last year of stabbing Monis' ex-wife and the mother of his children 18 times, dousing her body in petrol and setting her on fire during a frenzied attack in Werrington in Sydney's west in 2013.
While Justice Johnson accepted that Monis' psychological control over Droudis was fortified by physical abuse, he said this did not reduce her moral culpability for the killing.
He found that Droudis had reasonable prospects of rehabilitation but said it was to some extent difficult to see how she had maintained her Islamic faith as it was "something of a poisoned chalice", linked to Monis and his influence over her.
Monis had planned the murder for months and lured his ex-wife, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, to his rented apartment on the pretense of collecting their children.
A neighbour saw the bloody attack through the peephole of his door, and heard the victim crying out "I have children" as she was stabbed.
He manufactured an alibi for himself on the day of the killing, going to a swimming pool and repeatedly filming clocks and crashing his car outside a police station and insisting on being taken to hospital.
The trial heard Monis had twice tried to convince members of the Rebels bikie gang to kill his former wife, but they had laughed at him and thought he might even be working undercover for the police.
Droudis pleaded not guilty to the murder, claiming she was at her parents' house in Belmore but Justice Johnson dismissed her alibi witnesses as "unreliable" and "quite unconvincing".
In his judgment, Justice Johnson said Droudis was "enthralled" by Monis and prepared to act in "extraordinary ways" at his request, including carrying out the killing to forge a new family unit together.
In the hours after the murder, Droudis and Monis filmed themselves acting out scenes of domestic bliss with their family. Monis had already told his children that Droudis' name was "Mumi" and encouraged them to call her that.
Droudis met Monis after her mother made an appointment at his spiritual healing and clairvoyant business, in regard to which he was later charged with sexually and indecently assaulting women.
She changed her name from Anastasia to Amirah and converted to Islam after starting a relationship with him by at least 2006.
The trial heard that, at his bidding, Droudis appeared in a series of extreme videos for Monis - who styled himself as a Sheikh online - in which she praised Osama bin Laden and celebrated 9/11, the Holocaust and Bali bombings.
She also participated in bizarre protests with him in Martin Place outside the Channel Seven building and in his letter-writing campaigns to the family members of an Australian soldier killed in combat.
Following the murder, the pair made false allegations about who they believed killed his ex-wife and filmed Droudis' ailing mother apologising for a statement she made to police.
Throughout their relationship, Monis was having sexual relationships with other women and, at a one point, sought help from a religious leader to reunite with his ex-wife.
Crown prosecutor Mark Tedeschi, QC, asked the court to consider imposing a life sentence on Droudis, saying there was no substantial evidence of her prospect of rehabilitation.
But Droudis' barrister, Mark Ierace, SC, told a sentencing hearing his client had been subject to years of physical and emotional abuse at the hands of Monis.
Mr Ierace said Droudis had "every reason" to reject Monis' extreme beliefs.
Justice Johnson rejected the Crown's bid to impose a life sentence on Droudis, saying he was not satisfied the requirements had been met.
Outside the court, Sonia, a close family friend of Monis' ex-wife, said she was "very happy and overjoyed" by the sentence.
"I was expecting life but I am happy with that number. Very happy," she said.
"I would never ever forget my best friend. She was amazing. She would do anything for anyone. She would go out of her way."
Monis was charged with being an accessory before and after the fact to murder and was released on bail. He was shot dead after taking 18 customers and staff members hostage during the Lindt cafe siege in December 2014.