Helen Milner almost got away with murder.
Family members may not have been convinced that her second husband Phil Nisbet, 47, took his own life but police were, referring the May 4, 2009 death to the coroner's office as a suicide.
Coroner Sue Johnson reviewed all the police's evidence and, during an inquest on November 17, 2010, heard from Milner herself.
She found Milner, 50, to be an unreliable witness and spotted "a lot of inconsistencies in her evidence''.
The coroner also found no evidence that Mr Nisbet was responsible for a suicide note given to police.
"Police considered Phil Nisbet had likely taken his own life and did not consider anyone else involved. They reported his death to the coroner who directed a post mortem,'' Coroner Johnson said in her findings.
"I consider that on the facts, as established by the evidence before me, I am unable to reach the threshold required for a finding of suicide. As I can take this no further I leave this point open.''
It was only after the finding that police finally launched a homicide inquiry in May 2011 and Milner was arrested in October that year.
Now, she will spend at least 10 years behind bars for the fatal poisoning of her husband.
- by Kurt Bayer of APNZ
