The family of a young woman who was murdered by her boyfriend 14 years ago say they “feel empty” and have found no solution after he died in a car crash.
Richard Peter Coburn was driving in South Taranaki, New Zealand, when he was hit by another car in the early hours of March 20.
He was left with critical injuries and died five days later, at the age of 40.
Coburn spent five and a half years in prison before being deported to New Zealand in 2015.
In August 2013 he was sentenced to more than ten and a half years in prison for the involuntary manslaughter of his partner Justine Jones, 22, in 2010.
Richard Peter Coburn was sentenced in August 2013 to more than ten and a half years behind bars for the manslaughter of his partner Justine Jones, 22, (pictured) in 2010.
Coburn killed Ms Jones after going to her home to watch the State of Origin in July 2010.
He wrapped her body in a blanket and threw it in a container which was then compacted and taken to a landfill.
His body was so badly damaged that the cause of death could not be determined.
Jones’ sister, Jackie Johnson, said Coburn’s death had changed nothing for her grieving family.
“Everyone is a little lost, you know, like there’s a waste of life on both sides. And everyone’s been hurt by it,” he told the Mail.
Johnson said the worst part was that Jones’ loved ones would never get answers about the night of his death, since Coburn was gone.
Coburn died in a car accident last month at the age of 40. His victim’s family says she feels “empty”
‘He refused to talk, he showed no remorse. She just shut her mouth and pretty much got away with it,” she said.
“But I don’t think he should have been released from prison for what he did to him and I think this is just the universe balancing things out.” As if karma acts in mysterious ways.
Coburn had been violent towards Ms Jones early in their relationship.
He once broke a beer bottle before stabbing her in the back.
He initially told his parents he had made a mistake when they saw the scars before revealing what had really happened.
Ms Jones met Coburn after moving into a shared house with her sister where Coburn was already living in 2009 at Alexandra Headlands on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Coburn had already served three years in prison before being sentenced in 2013, before being deported to New Zealand in 2015.