Lawyers for a woman found guilty of fatally poisoning her partner in 2015 have lodged an application seeking permission to appeal against her conviction, as the victim's loved ones describe how she "killed for money".
In June this year, Wendie-Sue Dent was found guilty of poisoning her partner, David Lawrence, by using a lethal dose of prescription medication, including morphine.
The verdict, delivered by Justice Sophie David, was the result of Dent's second trial, after the Court of Criminal Appeal overturned a jury's guilty verdict, finding the judge had not adequately directed the jury about some of the evidence.
During sentencing submissions on Wednesday, Mr Lawrence's brother, Phillip, read a victim impact statement to South Australia's Supreme Court, which was almost identical to his statement following Dent's first trial.
"He was killed for money, nothing else," Mr Lawrence said.
"This person who murdered David would have spent his life savings on frivolous things for herself like shopping, gambling, drugs, alcohol, taxi fares and legal fees."
The court heard the victim's partner of 33 years had died in 2011, and Dent took advantage of him while he was vulnerable.
The court also heard the devastation Dent, now 64, caused the Lawrence family when she defaced the condolence book at his funeral.
"Now our family can never see the lovely comments that were written by his many friends and family," Phillip Lawrence told the court.
Dent continues to deny the offending, but her lawyer told the court of her client's childhood trauma and how it led to a prescription drug addiction, which she asked Justice David to consider ahead of sentencing Dent on Friday.
She said it was easy to categorise Dent as a drug-addict and former escort, but she asked Justice David to think of her as a child who was abused.
"Because really that is still the person you are sentencing," she said.
The prosecution said it was a planned murder for financial gain, committed against a vulnerable man, and asked Justice David to set the non-parole period "well above" the minimum 20 years.
