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“You made the decision to leave the home when she was alone and suffering, if not already dead.”

Rickerby ate several pieces of pizza when he returned home and called his parents, who encouraged him to phone triple zero, but Geddes was already dead when paramedics arrived.

Geddes died of complications from fractures and other injuries caused by Rickerby’s assault.

“Jessica’s death was not rapid – her physical state declined probably over hours,” Elliott said.

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“By the time you left to get the pizzas, she would not have been able to walk or talk properly.”

The judge pointed to Rickerby’s repeated lies to police, where he claimed Geddes was conscious and well when he left for the pizzas and that there had been no violence in their relationship.

Elliott said it was accepted the assault that led to Geddes’ death was not an isolated incident and she had been subjected to years of physical and verbal abuse from Rickerby.

He noted Geddes’ issues with drugs and mental health made her more vulnerable.

Rickerby was bigger and stronger than Geddes, and he took advantage of their relative isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the judge said.

At the time of her death, she weighed only 46 kilograms.

Elliott said domestic violence was a scourge on society and “abhorrent” cases like this one needed to be denounced in the strongest terms.

“Nothing could be suggested to justify or excuse your gross misconduct,” he said.

He noted Rickerby had limited prior convictions.