Jail, then deportation, for killer mum

A mother who killed three of her seven children by driving into a Melbourne lake will likely be deported to the war-torn country she fled as soon as she completes a 20-year jail sentence.

Sudanese refugee Akon Guode was on Tuesday jailed for a minimum of 20 years for killing her 16-month-old son Bol and four-year-old Hanger and her twin brother Madit in 2015.

The 37-year-old had pleaded guilty to the infanticide of Bol and the murders of her twins, and the attempted murder of a five-year-old daughter who survived when Guode drove the family car into a Wyndham Vale lake on April 8, 2015.

Guode came to Australia in 2006 after fleeing the civil war in Sudan, where she was raped after witnessing her husband's murder during a military raid on her village.

In Australia, Guode moved to Victoria where she had an affair with Joseph Manyang, her dead husband's cousin, and bore him four children.

She gave birth to their youngest child, Bol, in December 2013.

Guode became increasingly isolated from the Sudanese community because of her relationship with Mr Manyang and had difficulty recovering from the traumatic birth of her son.

She made arrangements to leave Melbourne and get away from some of her problems, which included being pursued by debt collectors.

On the day she was supposed to travel to Morwell by train, Guode instead drove her three youngest children to Manor Lakes Boulevard.

She made five trips near the Wyndham Vale lake and tried to ring Mr Manyang a number of times but he did not answer.

Guode then drove into the lake and stood next to her car as her children drowned despite the efforts of bystanders and emergency services personnel to save them.

The then 35-year-old blamed a dizzy spell for what happened.

Guode pleaded guilty to her crimes in January, two weeks before she was due to stand trial.

Justice Lex Lasry sentenced her to a maximum of 26 years and six months in prison, and said he would have sentenced her to life imprisonment had she not pleaded guilty.

Guode has been in custody since August 2015.

With 660 days already served, she could be released in 2035.

It's likely she will be deported to South Sudan because the Department of Immigration automatically cancels visas if holders have been sentenced to 12 or more months in prison.