A “pure evil monster” whose fatal beating of his disabled partner left her almost unrecognisable has been jailed for at least nine years.

Robert Karl Huber, 69, was often violent with his partner Lindy “Kimmy” Lucena, 64, during their five-year relationship before he killed her on January 3, 2023.

The couple had been staying in the courtyard behind a Salvation Army store at Ballina in the NSW Northern Rivers region after becoming homeless following floods in 2022.

Huber had drunk half a bottle of gin and popped sedatives when he attacked his partner in a sustained assault involving at least five blows that left her seriously injured.

Lucena’s daughter broke down in tears today as she recalled how she barely recognised her mother’s body because of the extensive damage.

“The only thing that pushed me forward was knowing how scared and how weak she would have been in those last moments of her life, or any other time this monster harmed her,” she told the NSW Supreme Court.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, said she understood losing loved ones was a natural part of life.

But that was not true of the “life-shattering” loss of her mother.

“Not everyone loses their mum at the hands of pure evil manifested,” she said through tears.

“Not everyone loses their mum to an unbelievably savage rampage of an assault that leaves her body broken and defenceless.”

Lucena did not die of her injuries but the beating was a “substantial cause of death” in combination with coronary heart disease and a small amount of methadone, Justice Stephen Rothman found.

He said her death marked the end of a relationship that was marred by Huber’s “extremely controlling” behaviour and physical abuse, which caused her to miss her daughter’s wedding.

Lucena suffered a stroke in 2021 and lived with cognitive and physical impairments, of which Huber was aware and which made her more vulnerable, the judge said.

Huber told a psychologist he only struck her twice during the argument but he blamed himself for her death.

“Whatever happened, whatever reason she died, I will never forgive myself,” he said.

His account of hitting Lucena twice was “palpably false”, Rothman said, because the evidence showed at least five blows but probably significantly more than that.

“The offender’s failure to take responsibility for the extent of the injuries inflicted is a failure to accept responsibility in a genuine way,” the judge found.

The court was told Huber, who has an extensive criminal history dating back to 1988, had breached an apprehended domestic violence order taken out to protect Lucena and had given her a black eye on Boxing Day 2022.

Rothman took into consideration Huber’s troubled childhood and mental health issues when sentencing him to 12 years and nine months behind bars.

The 69-year-old will be eligible for parole in October 2032.

The sentencing clears the path for a possible inquest into Lucena’s death and the NSW Police response.

Police took almost an hour to respond after having difficulties locating the scene and the responding officer didn’t leave his car to investigate once he arrived.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley told the ABC in July it would be appropriate for a coroner to examine Lucena’s death and the NSW Police response.

A spokesperson for the NSW Coroners Court said any information about a possible inquest would be made public after the criminal proceedings.