A woman described by a judge as a "femme fatale" has been jailed for 10 years over the death of her ex-partner during a pre-planned attack.
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Toni Leanne Peacock, 43, faced Brisbane Supreme Court on Tuesday for sentencing after pleading guilty last week to the manslaughter of Mark Carson.
Mr Carson, 58, was found dead on April 3, 2021 after suffering stab wounds at his Pacific Haven home near Hervey Bay, north of Brisbane.
Peacock was charged with murder along with then partner Cooper Lindsay Millard, 45, but changed her plea to guilty of manslaughter at the start of the trial.
Millard changed his plea to guilty to murder during the same hearing.
In sentencing on Tuesday, Justice Peter Davis said Peacock had committed a very serious example of manslaughter and admitted to manipulating Millard's infatuation.
"You were in the role of the femme fatale. You held the affections of two men with one, Millard, speaking regularly about seriously hurting or killing the other," he said.
Justice Davis said he did not accept Peacock's plea as a sign of significant and genuine remorse.
"The plea was made in circumstances where realistically manslaughter was the best possible result you could hope for," he said.
Mr Carson's family members watched the sentencing remotely from Queensland's Fraser Coast and from the UK.
Peacock and Millard were heavy users of the drug methamphetamine around the time they killed Mr Carson.
Millard used Peacock's phone to send a message to a friend that stated "the karma train is en route".
About 15 minutes after that message, Peacock entered Mr Carson's home at 8am with a plan to signal to Millard to enter.
"You were in the house for about 45 minutes before the signal ... (which) suggests you were pretending to still be on good terms with Mr Carson," Justice Davis said.
Peacock armed herself with a screwdriver from the house while Millard grabbed a knife and attacked Mr Carson.
Peacock then stabbed Mr Carson in the back while Millard inflicted several fatal knife wounds to his neck.
Justice Davis said the pair then engaged in a "quite elaborate" attempt to disguise the nature of Mr Carson's death.
This included Millard attempting to leave strangulation marks on Peacock before hitting her with a martial arts weapon owned by Mr Carson.
"Your story was that Mr Carson ultimately decided to take his own life ... this was the story told to police and others ... Millard said there was a fight that he tried to defuse," Justice Davis said.
Peacock told a triple-zero operator while reporting Mr Carson's death that her ex-partner was a "f***ing coward".
Justice Davis declared Peacock a serious violent offender. She will be required to serve 80 per cent of her sentence before being eligible for parole.
Peacock wept and reached for tissues after being sentenced.
She will be able to apply for parole in mid-2029 due to time already served.
Millard received a life sentence at Maryborough Supreme Court last week.
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Australian Associated Press
