The devastated sister of Ruth Binns has spoken of her heartache in the wake of a double tragedy for her family.

Ms Binns died as the result of a violent argument with her boyfriend Arnold Astwood at her Southampton home. Astwood's lawyer claims the row sparked a goitre in her throat to swell up, causing her fatal breathing difficulties.

Her death in September 2007 came less than a year after her brother Edward (Sleepy) Dill was stabbed to death by his girlfriend Andrina Smith also in the midst of a domestic dispute.

Smith was cleared of murder but convicted of manslaughter by a jury last March. She is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence. Astwood admitted manslaughter yesterday, on the day his trial on the more serious charge of murder was due to begin. He's now awaiting sentence.

Ruth and Edward had eight other siblings, the youngest of whom, Alea Dill, said yesterday: "I try not to think about how my brother died, nor how my sister died, but I have to pass her house for me to get home to my apartment, and every day I look up at her bedroom window and think of her and my brother."

Ms Dill added: "I cannot say exactly what took place that night or what happened inside the bedroom but I do know when I last saw her that night she was alive, well, and she was her regular self."

Although she wanted to see Astwood go on trial for murder like Smith did, Ms Dill told The Royal Gazette: "I don't think he had plans to kill her, but he killed her. So I guess manslaughter is accidental death, so I guess I can accept the fact that he pleaded guilty for manslaughter."

Ms Dill, 24, lived next door to Ms Binns, who was a popular customer service representative at Cellular One.

"Ruth was very happy. She was friendly, she got along with everybody, she liked to have fun, to swim, party, barbeque. She liked movies and she enjoyed the work that she did," she explained.

Recalling her last moments with her sister, she said: "I came home that evening and went next door to her place which was a daily routine. She was in her room with my other sister Allyn. She was sitting on her bed and I joined them. We were talking and she was showing us her new laptop that she was supposed to be getting the next day on the internet. She was excited about it."

Alea and Allyn went home, with Alea later popping round again to borrow her sister's old computer. She recalls seeing Ms Binns telling Astwood to clean up a glass bottle that had broken on the porch. It was the last time she would see her sister alive. When she knocked on her door to return the computer the next morning, there was no answer.

"I left to go to work and on my way I got a phone call from Allyn, telling me to come home. I heard in her voice something was wrong and she started crying. I was asking her what was wrong and that's when she said Ruth was out cold."

By the time she returned home, it was clear Ms Binns was dead. The Police were called in, and Ms Dill says Astwood who had been her sister's boyfriend for many years called her after that.

"He said to me 'what's wrong, what's wrong, is Ruth OK?' I hung up the phone," she said. Astwood was arrested later that day and subsequently charged over the death. According to his lawyer Charles Richardson, he is full of remorse.

"I do believe he's probably sorry and that he didn't mean to kill Ruth because he knew how much she cared for him, and I do believe he cared for her, but I don't know if it was as much as she cared for him," said Ms Dill.

She has mixed feelings over what she would like to see happen to Astwood in terms of punishment.

"It's hard because of the fact that I believe that he didn't mean to kill her but he did. She's gone, she ain't coming back, and nothing's going to change that.

"I think I expected better from him because of the fact that he knew what our family had been through with the death of my brother Sleepy and he was there for Ruth. I can say that...but at the same time he's done it and I think he has to be dealt with. He needs to go to prison," she said.