Man jailed for 19 years for stabbing his wife to death

A Sydney man has been jailed for at least 19 years for murdering his childhood sweetheart, in a tragic end to years of domestic violence.

Gavin John De Beyer, 52, stabbed his wife Sharon Louise Michelutti in the chest during an argument in their Riverwood home in February 2016.

His children, wearing purple ribbons, hurled abused at him as he was led away by Corrective Services.

"See you in 2035", one yelled, referring to the date he will be eligible for parole after 19 years in prison.

He simply smiled at them in return. 

De Beyer  turned himself into Campsie Police Station, where he curled in the foetal position and sobbed “I want my baby back, she’s dead, she killed herself”.

He claimed his wife of 30 years had jumped on the blade.

At the time he was subject to an apprehended violence order taken out after police were called to the home two months earlier.

Today the court heard De Beyer had also been the victim of domestic violence when he was a child at the hands of his father.

But Justice Peter Hidden also said he had shown no remorse and still claimed he was innocent.