The murder of businessman Nelson Cheung on a quiet country road was a savage, cruel and senseless crime which caused widespread shock and devastated his devoted family.
Mr Cheung, aged 64, and his wife Winnie were the softest of targets for the vicious thugs who set out to rob the hardworking couple as they drove home from their Chinese restaurant in Randalstown, Co Antrim in January 2015.
It was a plan that had already been rehearsed by the killers, Christopher Menaul and Virgilio Correia, who had previously carried out a `dry run' of the raid.
Both men, the court heard, were drug addicts who wanted money to pay off their debts to paramilitaries.
In the event, they stole just £200 in cash as well as other items from Mrs Cheung who was left badly injured while her husband was stabbed 18 times in what could only be described as a frenzied attack.
The extreme violence used in this appalling incident is deeply disturbing.
Mrs Cheung is haunted by the question, ``why were they so cruel to a stranger who was so powerless to resist?''
That is a question that has not been adequately answered by Portuguese national Correia, who made the fateful decision to carry a knife to the scene and who used it to kill a defenceless man who was targeted purely for money.
It is a horrendous crime in so many ways but in terms of the Cheung family it has been catastrophic.
Mrs Cheung lost her husband of 32 years, has been unable to work because of her injuries and suffers post traumatic stress while her family has been deprived of a loving father and grandfather.
Correia was jailed for at least 16 years but such was the violence used by this dangerous individual that he should only be released if the authorities are satisfied he no longer poses a threat.
This was a chilling crime and those responsible must face the consequences of their actions.
