Relatives of a woman murdered in cold blood by her boyfriend have welcomed the “appropriate punishment” meted out to the killer, who will be spending 30 years behind bars.

“We feel that justice has finally been done and he has been given an appropriate time in prison. He got what he deserved. Now we can work towards achieving closure,” Shannon Mak’s father, Frank, told Times of Malta.

He and nine other family members, including Shannon’s mother, her two siblings,  Danique and Marlon, as well as aunts and uncles, were present in the courtroom on Wednesday when Madam Justice Consuelo Scerri Herrera sentenced Jelle Rijpma. 

“It was good to hear the judge read out the guilty verdict. Although we knew it, it felt like a kind of victory to all of us. Justice has been done,” Mak said upon his return to the Netherlands following a lightning visit to Malta for the sentencing.

The 30-year-old Dutch woman had moved to Malta to experience the island’s life and culture and dated Rijpma, 25, also Dutch, for about two years.

Her body was found in a pool of blood with her throat slashed outside her Santa Venera apartment in early August 2018. Her former boyfriend pleaded guilty to the murder in October and confirmed the plea when he appeared in court.

Rijpma brutally beat her and kicked her before fatally stabbing her in the neck. A trail of red handprints suggested she had clung to the wall before being killed.

Her body, covered with injuries and bruises, was discovered early in the morning on August 3 between a parked car and a garden wall on Triq il-Mastrudaxxi.

The victim’s father said that no amount of time in jail for the killer would bring Shannon back.

“Had he not pleaded guilty, and the case gone to trial, he could have faced life in jail but that would have lengthened the process and the heartache for us. So, given the circumstances, 30 years was appropriate. We can live with it,” he said.

Murder carries a maximum of life imprisonment but when an early guilty plea is filed, the punishment goes down by one degree to 30 years.

Rijpma was also fined €116.47 for possessing a knife.

Mak had words of praise for the Maltese authorities who treated them “with utmost respect”, showing “they regard this case as important to them”.

“We very much appreciate the warmth and sympathy we received from the Maltese,” he said, thanking their lawyer in Malta, Stefano Filletti, for always being there for the family.