Ever since Delroy Bin-Garape left home, his mother Sariba expected him to make a surprise return.
"I never would have thought ... he would have come home in a body bag," she tearfully told Brisbane Supreme Court on Thursday.
Barely 18 months after leaving Cairns, Mr Bin-Garape, 26, was fatally stabbed by his partner Liddel Tamika-Rose Ramsey outside their house in Brisbane's south.
At first Ramsey considered Mr Bin-Garape her "Prince Charming".
However, their relationship on Thursday was described as toxic before Ramsey, 28, was sentenced for manslaughter with Mr Bin-Garape's devastated family looking on.
Ramsey had been physically assaulted by Mr Bin-Garape in an argument before she went outside their Annerley house with a knife and confronted him in June 2019, the court heard.
Mr Bin-Garape died from a stab wound to the chest.
"This tragedy was preventable and should never have happened," his mother said, reading a heartbreaking victim impact statement.
"I am destined to go through the rest of my life without my son because of the thoughtless act of another person.
"He had dreams and aspirations and so much love to share but all of that was mercilessly stolen from us in a single moment of senseless violence."
She said a million words could not describe the pain that now consumed her life.
"I always envisioned him surprising me one day by just turning up, walking through the door, saying 'momma I am home' and kissing me on the forehead," she said of a hopeful Cairns return.
"Losing my son has broken me.
"My children have said to me they didn't just lose Delroy, they lost their mother."
Justice Peter Callaghan said Mr Bin-Garape's family's victim impact statements had "done him proud".
"It is clear that he was much loved by many who is greatly missed," he said.
But Justice Callaghan said Mr Bin-Garape's relationship with Ramsey was not easy to define.
"At different times both you and Delroy behaved in ways that increased the likelihood of violence," he told Ramsey.
"At times his behaviour caused injury towards you and could make you fearful.
"Against that ... you were also aggressive and abusive towards him."
Justice Callaghan was concerned by Ramsey's decision to leave the house with the knife and confront Mr Bin-Garape.
"You must have known that by doing so you would have provoked a response from him and you must have contemplated the use of the knife in order to meet that response," he said.
A psychology report noted Ramsey's reasoning at the time was impaired by complex trauma from her formative years, defence barrister Kim Bryson said.
"That is something she will grapple with for the rest of her life ... why she did that (leave house with knife)," she said.
Ramsey had symptoms consistent with complex PTSD and trauma after overcoming significant challenges including inadequate parenting and an impoverished upbringing, the court heard.
After spending more than four years in pre-sentence custody, Ramsey on Thursday pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
She received a suspended five-year jail term.
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