The sister of a man brutally murdered in his home has travelled from New Zealand to confront and condemn his killers.
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A tearful Karien Hunter testified in the NSW Supreme Court about the moment her family learnt of her brother's death across the Tasman Sea.
"We recoiled in horror when the news reports of my beloved brother Warwick were released," she said on Friday.
"I fell into a comatose depression, unable to move from my bed, so inconsolable was I."
Earlier this year, John Hicks and co-accused Samir Chamma were found guilty of robbing and murdering father-of-two Warwick Hunter on November 15, 2020.
The men had been told Mr Hunter was carrying a large wad of cash, so they, drove to his Toongabbie house with a third man in an attempt to rob him.
Seeing the front door was locked, Chamma ripped it off and the group entered the house.
Mr Hunter, who weighed less than 50kg, attempted to run to his bedroom but Hicks caught up.
He punched and stabbed him multiple times in the torso and leg and Mr Hunter was found dead outside his house soon after.
In the two years since, the assailants have tried to dispose of evidence and maintained their innocence throughout the court proceedings, delaying justice for Mr Hunter's family.
With the court proceedings wrapping, Ms Hunter knew she had to fly to Sydney to address the killers herself.
"It took all my courage to face this animal and for the most part I could not bear the proceedings," she said.
"But then grief turns to anger. Stricken with sheer courage is what it took for me to face this bastard."
"(John Hicks) will forevermore be something I confer to as the devil himself - the pure personification of evil in the flesh.
Mr Hunter's wife Pamela said the loss had paralysed her and their family.
"Warwick is my sweet darling, Warwick was always there for me and our two children," her victim impact statement said.
"We spent the day together, we had KFC, and then that night Warwick was no more."
Pamela was determined to attend court every day in memory of her husband, even when it cost her health and her job.
Chamma and Hicks appeared from prison via an audio-visual link. Neither showed much emotion as Mr Hunter's loved ones broke down in front of them.
During the sentence submissions, their defence teams told Justice Sarah McNaughton the two men had shown remorse.
When both men initially dialled into the link, they appeared to be catching up, smiling and laughing as they showed off their prison clothes.
"(Warwick) was someone I spent an enormous part of my life visiting and travelling throughout Sydney with over the last 25 years. No longer does that sense of impending fun and adventure greet me when I arrive," Karien Hunter said.
"A sense of dread and grief has replaced those familiar memories."
Australian Associated Press
