Family members of a Melbourne couple and their newborn baby killed in a horrific house fire have criticised the sentence given to the woman who lit the blaze.
Abbey Forrest 19, Inderpal Singh, 28, and their 19-day-old baby Ivy died when fire engulfed their home at Point Cook in December 2020.
Jenny Hayes, 48, was arrested the following day and admitted to starting the fire.
The sex worker had met a client in the downstairs bedroom in the early hours of the morning and was seeking retribution after the man stole money from her purse and left.
Hayes returned to the bedroom and used a cigarette lighter to set fire to the mattress.
Security camera vision played in court showed her taking pictures of the blaze on her phone before driving off.
She then sent the pictures to the man who had robbed her.
"I'm charging u with rape," Hayes said in a text.
"And I'm setting your house on fire right now."
The fire quickly spread through the townhouse, trapping the family sleeping upstairs.
Neighbours tried to help, but the family could not escape.
Fire fighters later found three bodies in the badly damaged bedroom.
Victim's mother 'can't believe the sentence'
Hayes was initially charged with murder but earlier this year pleaded guilty to three counts of arson causing death, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
On Friday she was sentenced to 13 years in jail with a minimum term of eight years.
"It's just absolutely ripped us apart," Abbey Forrest's mother Elizabeth said outside court.
"I know that any sentence won't bring them back, but I just can't believe the sentence we have got now. I'm not coping with it at all."
Although she admitted starting the fire, Hayes told police she did not know the young family was sleeping upstairs.
Her claim was contradicted by Aakash Aakash, the man who met her in the bedroom and robbed her purse.
He was a friend of Inderpal Singh and sometimes used the downstairs bedroom.
Mr Aakash gave evidence that he had told Hayes to keep her voice low when they entered the downstairs bedroom because there were people sleeping upstairs.
But Supreme Court Judge Elizabeth Hollingworth said she did not accept Mr Aakash's version of events.
"I had the opportunity to observe Mr Aakash giving evidence at a preliminary examination in this court," Justice Hollingworth said.
"Even though he was not subject to the more rigorous cross-examination that might have occurred had there been a trial, he was not an impressive witness. I found his account to be self-serving and unconvincing.
"He had a clear motive to give an account that shifted any blame for what happened away from himself."
Judge says Hayes 'destroyed' family's shared future
In sentencing Hayes, Justice Hollingworth said she took into her account her guilty plea and her troubled childhood, which included neglect and sexual abuse.
"Not only did you take the lives of Abbey, Indi and Ivy, you also destroyed their loved ones' dreams of a shared future," Justice Hollingworth said.
"Losing three loved ones in such terrible circumstances has been heartbreaking for their families and friends. Their lives have been changed forever."
Ms Forrest's father Alan was critical of the sentence.
"We thought she would have got more," Mr Forrest said.
"We feel a bit let down. We don't get closure from this."
Hayes has already spent almost two years in custody.
She will be eligible for release in 2028.
