Keith Edward Earnshaw was sentenced in the Perth Supreme Court on Thursday to life imprisonment with a 23-year minimum for killing 40-year-old Helen Rocha in September 2013. He had pleaded guilty to Ms Rocha's murder in July.
The court was told Earnshaw had lured Ms Rocha to his Parmelia home on the false premises of arranging a drug deal, before strangling her and burying her body in his garage... he initially strangled her with his hands, before binding her hands, taping her mouth, and tying cable ties around her throat. He then removed her jewellery and clothing and buried her under slabs in his garage. Earnshaw also cut off Ms Rocha's hair and hid it in empty pot plants on his property...
Earnshaw offered no explanation or motive for the murder. He told detectives he had been high on methamphetamine and was "looping out."
