Santo Caruso describes his late mother Rosa as an angel.
He just hopes his elderly father won't take to the grave his reasons for brutally murdering her after a seemingly happy 50 years of marriage.
"She was an angel, wouldn't hurt a fly. That's the worst part," Santo told reporters outside court.
"She hardly did anything wrong."
Retired fruiterer Peter Caruso, 76, was jailed on Monday for 18 years with a minimum 13 years for the gruesome murder of his wife at their Melbourne home in 2008.
An autopsy showed she was hit hard by a hatchet or similar item 36 times.
Santo now awaits an explanation from his father as to why he killed her.
"What pushes a human to go that far? I want a reason and hopefully before my dad dies, he'll give us one. So we can rest in peace, hopefully."
During his trial, Peter Caruso claimed that his wife was murdered by a burglar while he was at the shops.
He said he came home to find her on the floor covered in a pool of blood.
It took a jury took less than four hours to convict Caruso of murder.
Victorian Supreme Court Justice Betty King described his killing as "brutal and horrific".
She said there was no known motive, nor evidence of animosity, violence or conflict between Caruso and his wife.
"You have been a decent hardworking man your entire life. This offence is totally out of character for you and for the demonstrated relationship that you had with your wife," she said.
The prosecution alleged Caruso messed up the house to look like it had been robbed in a poor attempt to cover up his crime.
He also told police some of her jewellery was missing.
But there was no sign of forced entry.
A property search also uncovered a hatchet in a cupboard, and trousers, a windcheater and shoes carrying blood stains.
Jewellery was also found in a plastic bag.
Justice King said while some people would believe the sentence was merciful, it was highly likely Peter Caruso may die in prison.
Santo said although it brought some relief, no sentence would bring his mother back.
"It was a no-win situation for me and my brother. My mum's dead and my dad's in jail," he said.
"At least we can get on with our lives now."
Santo said it was frustrating that his dad had not offered any explanation for his mother's death.
"He said at the start, 'Forget about mum, she's gone now.' His attitude has been very poor since he was arrested."
"I'd like to say now it's a gambling problem, booze, another woman. That'd be a nice thing to reason. It's a moment of madness, a brain snap."
He added his father did not know why he was in jail.
"He says `what am I in here for? I've done nothing wrong'," he said.
"The sad thing is he thinks he's in a retirement village. He thinks, 'I've got a nice room, I've got a toilet, colour TV, all 540 prisoners are nice boys.
"Whether it's dementia or he's fooling himself or it's self denial, it's very sad."
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