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Kerry Leigh Downey - Source: ONE News -
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The family of a cat protection worker killed in Christchurch last year says the justice system has let them down with a weak sentence for the man who admitted her murder.
Ashley Peach has been jailed for at least 13 years for the murder of Kerry Downey, but the court heard that he is so violent and unpredictable it may never be safe to release him.
Peach walked into court not only to hear his fate but also how his actions devastated the family of his victim.
"The memories of all the happy times we shared are overrun with thought of terrifying cruel, violent and ugly death and the thought of the pain she must've suffered," says Vicky Thiele, the victim's sister.
Terry Downey, the victim's father, also told the court of his grief.
"My lovely daughter treated like a bag of rubbish. How could anyone do that?"
Martin Downey, the victim's brother, says he relives the ordeal.
"Her memory will always be tainted by this man's disgusting act."
And the family had a message for the judge.
"Ashley Peach is a cruel and selfish, heartless monster who does not deserve forgiveness or leniency," says Joanna Whitlow, the victim's sister.
What he did get was life imprisonment with a minimum of 13 years, and a discount because he admitted strangling Kerry Downey the night she had gone to his flat to rescue a cat.
Defence lawyer Pip Hall says Peach accepts full responsibility.
"It appears that he simply lost the plot, if ever he had a plot."
His lawyers argued the court should take into account his troubled childhood and his low IQ.
But the Crown quoted a psychiatrist.
"Mr Peach has shown himself to be unpredictable, capable of extreme violence and having little or no capacity to change. It may never be safe to release him back into the community," says Pip Currie, Crown prosecutor.
Outside court, Kerry Downey's family were still in tears over the sentence.
The New Zealand justice system has failed her," says Martin Downey.
"Her death at the hands of Ashley Peach will haunt us forever. For Kerry and us, life does mean life."
The man who took that life, for at least the next 13 years, is safely behind bars.
