Nathan Swan, 45, sentenced to 10 years behind bars for fatal stabbing of Kwementyaye McCormack

‘Feels sadness every single day’: After two trials and a hung jury, Nathan Swan has finally been sentenced over the 2015 killing of his partner in Alice Springs.

A man who went to trial twice for the same crime due to a hung jury has finally been sentenced, more than eight years after fatally stabbing his partner in Alice Springs.

Nathan Swan, 45, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the 2015 killing of Kwementyaye McCormack, being found guilty of manslaughter by unanimous jury verdict in the Supreme Court last week.

The guilty verdict came two years after a previous jury forced Swan’s trial to be vacated when they could not reach a consensus.

Handing down her sentence on June 28, Justice Sonia Brownhill said Ms McCormack had been remembered by loved ones as “a happy, kind, loving and caring” 31-year-old.

“The deceased’s mother said that the deceased was her only daughter, her baby daughter, and nothing will bring her back,” Justice Brownhill’s sentencing remarks said.

“She was shocked and heartbroken and her life has not been the same without her daughter, she has felt sadness every single day.

“The deceased’s nieces said they miss her laughter, her jokes and the good times they had with her.”

Justice Sonia Brownhill’s sentencing remarks remembered Kwementyaye McCormack as a “a happy, kind, loving and caring” woman.

Swan and Ms McCormack had been dating since 2003 and had at least one child together.

On March 29, 2015, they were living in different homes as Ms McCormack was trying to leave the relationship because of Swan’s “drinking, cheating and domestic violence”.

A domestic violence order was also in place banning Swan from contacting her while he was intoxicated.

Nonetheless, after a long day of drinking, Swan turned up at her Larapinta home some time after 2.40am.

He began to argue and beat her, defensive injuries to her hands confirming his blows to her head.

Swan armed himself with a kitchen knife and stabbed Ms McCormack in the thigh 8.5cm deep, severing her femoral artery and causing her to bleed out within 15 minutes.

After calling Triple-0 Swan lied about how the wound had happened and was aggressive towards emergency services.

Ms McCormack was declared dead at the Alice Springs Hospital at 5.22am.

Nathan Swan was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the manslaughter of his longtime partner. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Justice Brownhill found Swan’s actions were grossly negligent but did not meet the threshold of recklessness as there was reasonable doubt he was not aware the stabbing carried a substantial risk of death.

She condemned Swan’s actions as “another senseless and tragic death of a woman at the hands of her domestic partner”.

“Domestic violence is a scourge on our society, causing deep and lasting trauma and harm to families,” Justice Brownhill said.

“Her children have lost their mother. Her family have lost their daughter, their sister, their aunty and their cousin. Her friends have lost their friend. The community has lost a good woman, who loved her job working with kids in care, contributing to the needs of the broader community.”

A Coroner’s report from 2016 found police had recorded 32 episodes of domestic violence between Swan and McCormack from 2003 to the time of her death in 2015.

Swan was given a non-parole period of six years and six months.