The trial of a man who viciously murdered a mother of three in front of the Esso Tigermarket in Hamilton was extensively covered in June.

George (Messy) Macdonald Liburd, 32, was charged with murdering Chena Danette Trott in August, 2002.

During the trial many eyewitnesses said they saw Liburd punch and stab Ms Trott behind the store. A stab wound that punctured her heart caused Ms Trott's death.

Ms Trott's friend, Beverley Ann Pitt, who had chatted with Ms Trott minutes before her death and was an eyewitness to the incident, cried throughout her testimony.

"He gripped Chena ... He stabbed her three or four times, she was crying for help, she said 'help me Beverley, help me'," Ms Pitt said. "I tried to go over and help her but as I got closer he kept doing it over and over again. Every time I got closer he said, 'I'm going to take your friend and the children's mama from you'."

Ms Pitt told the court that she immediately called the Police.

Another eyewitness, David Myron Brangman, said he exited the store and saw Ms Trott slumped over and Liburd standing nearby. He went to investigate, but Liburd would not let him near Ms Trott.

"I went closer, he took a swipe at me, I was with some young girls and I told them to get away from him and to go inside. I saw there was a knife in his hand, I backed off and he took the same knife and drove it in. I froze. I noticed a denim bag on the ground so I took it and tried to swing it, I felt it was the only thing I could do after sitting watching someone being stabbed."

Mr. Brangman, who never left Ms Trott's side, said Liburd run off the premises with the knife still in his hand. Mr. Brangman tried to stop the woman's bleeding with a sheet from his car while he called paramedics.

He described her injuries in detail and said her face was severely beaten, her teeth were broken off, blood poured out of her mouth and there was blood on her mid-section.

According to statements taken by Police after the incident, Liburd allegedly said, "I used a knife to kill her, that girl is a f***ing bitch, I'd do it again. When I loved we loved deep, that girl played a f***ing game on me, I'd f***ing do it again."

Liburd, who was represented by Queen's Counsel John Perry and co-counsel Anthony Richardson, did not dispute his actions that day. He admitted that he killed Ms Trott when he pleaded guilty to manslaughter with diminished responsibility. What he did not plead guilty to was murdering her, his defence team argued the actions were not premeditated and that Liburd lost control.

Essentially the defence tried to prove Liburd was suffering from an abnormality of the mind which impaired his mental responsibility at the time of the killing.

When he took the stand Liburd said he was a product of an abusive home and knew no other way to deal with issues.

"It's not something I enjoy, it was bred into me from such a young age, I knew it was wrong but I did it because it was all I knew, it was like a sickness," he said. "It had a tremendous effect, everything that happened to me when I was younger. I did it in (my) relationships to women and to people I was close to. I'm not using it as a justification, it was something that I wanted to overcome. I just couldn't get it under control," he said.

When Crown counsel Carrington Mahoney questioned Liburd about his true feelings toward Ms Trott, Liburd was defensive and grew angry.

"I took Chena's life, I accept that but I loved Chena, don't tell me I didn't care," he said.

The trial was reduced to a clash of experts with Crown's witnesses saying he was sane enough to realise what he was doing and defence witnesses saying he snapped.

Crown witness Dr. James Buccigross, the former Westgate psychologist and former director of the Alternative Substance Abuse Programme (ASAP), told the court Liburd acted like "any other 'average' inmate". He said Liburd slept and ate regularly and his main concern was what was going to happen to him.

Defence witness Dr. Paul Harlow told the court that he diagnosed Liburd with severe anti-social personality disorder.

"Through the violence directed towards women, it is consistent with my opinion that the defendant is seriously mentally disordered and adds weight to my opinion that he is dangerous, and that he has committed crimes that fit the anti-social personality disorder," he said.

The jury did not accept the defence's argument that Liburd was mentally unstable at the time of the incident. He was sentenced to life in prison in July.

He was also sentenced to an additional eight years in jail in September for assaulting Ms Trott a few weeks before he killed her.