The family of a woman killed by her partner and left in a Waikato lake for almost a year have spoken out about what they describe as New Zealand's broken justice system.
Now they are fighting for law reform to restrict the rights of murderers and to prevent them from placing a financial burden on the families of their victims.
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- Cory Jefferies 'unemotional' after guilty verdict of Kim Richmond's murder
- 'I just want to f**king kill the bitch' - couple's argument before death of Kim Richmond
In July 2016, 42-year-old Kim Richmond disappeared. It took 11 months for her body to be found submerged in a ute at Lake Arapuni.
"I never get to see my sister again, the children never get to see their mum," her sister Tracey says.
And with that came another shock - the man accused of killing her was her partner of 26 years and the father of her children, Cory Jefferies.
After Jefferies was arrested, Kim's parents took temporary custody of their grandchildren - two boys and a girl now aged 11, 14 and 16.
A year later, as soon as the verdict came in, they applied to be the children's legal guardians. The family thought it was the end of the nightmare.
But from behind bars Kim's killer has repeatedly delayed the custody process trying to stop their application.
"I guess it's just another dig at mum and dad, just to put the knife in a little bit harder," Tracey says.
Eight months later they've finally been granted full custody but even now Jefferies can challenge it.
"He has no rights regarding the custody of those children whatsoever, he's taken their mother's life and taken her away for good," Tracey says.
The lengthy legal battle has cost the Richmonds thousands of dollars.
"Why should it be costing my parents so much time and money when at the end of the day, they are victims?" Tracey asks.
The cost is on top of the financial burden that's come with uprooting their lives. The grandparents have left behind their retirement in Te Puke to move to the children's hometown of Arohena to raise them in the least disruptive way.
Jefferies, who's serving 11 years in prison, offers no financial assistance. That would take another court battle the family are too exhausted to fight.
Tracey desperately wants for some good to come from Kim's death and she's calling for urgent law reform to limit the rights of a prisoner in a custody battle like this one and for the financial burden to always be put on the killer.
"I don't want any family going forward to feel like as a victim they're actually being punished, that's kinda what it feels like," she says.
But the Richmond's find their strength in keeping Kim's sparkle alive in her children.
Newshub.
