Theresa Nohe-Sipili says she can never forgive her nephew and his friend for the drunken beating of her husband of 16 years, Etuina Sipili.
That vicious attack - repeated punching and kicking to the head - came suddenly during an argument after the three men had been drinking and watching a boxing match on television in the Sipili's Wellington city home.
It caused severe brain injuries from which Mr Sipili never recovered.
After seven months in a vegetative state, never regaining consciousness or responding to ever-present members of his family at his bedside, the 45-year-old father of seven died in his wife's arms.
In the Wellington High Court today, jail sentences were handed down to Fred Pokoati (24) and Jarrad Townley (23), who had both pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Family members were deeply upset and angry that Pokoati was jailed for seven years and seven months and Townley for six years and nine months. They will be eligible for parole in just under four years and a little over three years respectively.
Mrs Nohe-Sipili later said she was "appalled" at what she regarded as light sentences.
"They will be out in no time but my husband is not coming back. We still have to live every day without him. It is very punishing for the whole family."
She had been furious when police told her by telephone the original murder charge had been reduced to manslaughter, with the accused both pleading guilty.
"I was prepared to go through the whole murder trial."
The grieving widow said it was difficult today fronting the two killers in court and reading out her lengthy, tear-jerking, victim impact statement. But it was something she had to do for herself, her children and her dead husband.
Fighting back tears, Mrs Nohe-Sipili said in her statement she had lost her soulmate and best friend "because of two people and their cold, sadistic rage".
They had broken the hearts and spirits of her children - the couple's five youngsters together and an older child each.
Pokoati had betrayed the love of the family. She and her husband had taken him in at the age of 13 because of his troubled background.
"We loved him like a son and raised him with our own children."
His friend, Townley, was welcomed into their home and "trusted to behave respectfully".
Mrs Nohe-Sipili described her husband as a "hands-on dad" who had a unique bond with all seven of their children. Now that bond could never grow and their father would never share their achievements.
"The grief, misery, pain and anger are still unbearable. I will never get over this terrible tragedy."
The family had suffered financially and health-wise and still struggled to survive from one day to the next.
"I don't stick with a plan any more. My husband and I always planned things together."
Poignantly, she said their youngest child was 15 months old when his dad died and the family's world "crumbled".
In July their baby would have his third birthday, minus the father all the children had expected to share their futures with.
