Greed drove Angelika Gavare to Vonne McGlynn's murder

IN terms of method, Vonne McGlynn's murder could not have been more complicated.

IN terms of method, Vonne McGlynn's murder could not have been more complicated.

The pensioner was stalked, attacked, bashed and dismembered  and, to this day, her head and hands have not been found.

In terms of motive, however, the murder of Ms McGlynn could not have been more simple.

She was cruelly slaughtered because of the most base of human emotions  greed.

That greed proved to be Angelika Gavare's undoing yesterday, when the Supreme Court found her guilty of murder.

"This is not a case of an assault which went too far or a robbery interrupted which had unintended consequences," Justice Trish Kelly said.

"The totality of the evidence points to the conclusion, and I so conclude, that Gavare wanted Ms McGlynn's house and she wanted her money.

"There is no other reasonable explanation for the evidence ... other than that Gavare killed Ms McGlynn."

The guilty verdict appeared to confuse Gavare, who stood in the dock and frowned.

Gone was any trace of the woman who had, during the three-week trial, tried to peer at documents and shaken her head at witness testimony.

Strangest of all were Gavare's reactions to video recordings of her interviews with police.

When the on-screen Gavare made a joke, the real-life Gavare would laugh.

It was yet another odd element of a case dubbed "bizarre" by prosecution and defence alike.

"(The word) 'bizarre' was used many times and I'm not sure that even covers it," Director of Public Prosecutions Stephen Pallaras, QC, said after the verdict.

"It's a case that had many, many strange aspects to it.

"We see the dark side of society in this business."

At trial, Mr Pallaras had alleged Gavare, 35, murdered Ms McGlynn, 82, in her Reynella home on or about December 3, 2008.

He claimed Gavare wanted to sell the house, and use the profit to make a better life for herself and her two daughters.

Mr Pallaras said she dismembered Ms McGlynn and used a child's pusher to dump her body parts in a creek near her Christie Downs home.

He further alleged Gavare used Ms McGlynn's personal effects, along with forged documents, to try to empty her bank accounts.

Two twists, worthy of a television drama, came to define the case.

In the first, Gavare's own mother took the stand and testified against her.

Showing enormous courage, Inara Dombrovska walked through court to the witness box without even glancing at her imprisoned daughter.

She told the court that she would not "blind" herself to "what my daughter is".

Ms Dombrovska said that, during a 2008 Christmas celebration, Gavare confessed to the murder.

"Angelika said she went to Ms McGlynn's house when (she) was out ... then stunned her," Ms Dombrovska told the court.

"She went back late in the evening and took Ms McGlynn out of the city somewhere south.

"She said she would like to sell Ms McGlynn's house and buy another house.

"I said that the police would find Ms McGlynn and Angelika replied, very definitely, that they would not find her."

Ms Dombrovska's evidence was vital to Mr Pallaras' case.

Despite rigorous searching, he had no forensic evidence tying Gavare to the murder scene.

"I'd like to pay tribute to a migrant family that hasn't been in Australia very long and taught us a really good lesson about having the courage to do the right thing," he said outside court.

"It must have been a terribly difficult ordeal for the family, and one wonders whether you could do that yourself."

In her written verdict, Justice Kelly said she had no doubt Ms Dombrovska was telling the truth.

"I was impressed with this witness ... her evidence generally was measured and careful," she said.

The second twist emerged late in the trial.

Having claimed, for years, that Ms McGlynn had asked her to renovate the Reynella house, Gavare suddenly changed her story.

Her lawyers called Gavare's ex-lover, Giuseppe Daniele, to the stand and accused him of killing the pensioner in a hit-run crash.

They claimed Mr Daniele had forced Gavare to help him stage a fake robbery as a cover-up.

Mr Daniele responded by laughing at the "ludicrous" suggestion  a reaction Justice Kelly found to be truthful.

"His incredulity in response to the suggestions put to him that he was involved in the death of Ms McGlynn was obviously genuine," she said.

"I have no hesitation in accepting Mr Daniele as a witness of truth."

Justice Kelly was less impressed with Gavare's former cellmate, convicted fraudster Amanda Jayne Patterson.

She had claimed Gavare found murder "erotic" and "a bit of a turn-on".

It was sensational but, as Justice Kelly ruled, lacked the ring of truth.

"I simply cannot accept or rely on any of the evidence of this witness," Justice Kelly said.

"I have such a deep sense of unease about the truthfulness of Ms Patterson that I am simply not prepared to act upon her evidence."

She also refused to accept Gavare's version of events.

"Her account of what happened on the night of December 3, 2008, is utterly implausible," she said.

"I simply am unable to accept such a ludicrous account, even as a reasonable possibility.

"I have formed the view that the account Gavare gave ... was made up (and) there is no reasonable possibility (it) is true."

Yesterday, Justice Kelly remanded Gavare in custody until October.

On that date, she will hear submissions as to what non-parole period the murderer should receive.

Under South Australian law, a murder conviction results in an automatic life sentence with a mandatory 20-year non-parole period.