Abused mum 'sorry' for slaughtering, cutting up husband

Doubt has been cast about how sorry a victim of ongoing domestic violence is for killing and dismembering her husband's body.

Nirmeen Noufl is awaiting sentence for manslaughter after pleading guilty in August to killing her husband Mamdouh in circumstances of excessive self-defence while being assaulted.

The 55-year-old told two psychiatrists she only stabbed her husband once, but evidence could not be tested because Mr Noufl's body was not found after his May 2023 death, agreed facts of the case state.

Noufl dismembered her husband's body using a saw and disposed of it in multiple garbage bags across southwest Sydney.

Initially charged with murder, prosecutors opted against pursuing that case on the eve of a trial and accepted a guilty plea to manslaughter.

In a NSW Supreme Court sentence hearing on Monday, the couple's daughter gave evidence about her interactions with her mother in prison while awaiting sentence.

"In the last year, she's become a lot more ... fragile and broken," the daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said in court.

Both women were emotional in court during the evidence and used tissues to wipe away tears.

Noufl's repeated offers to plead guilty to manslaughter in the lower courts also showed she had a consistent level of contrition, her barrister said.

Psychological evidence showed the 55-year-old likely developed a survival mechanism, common in abuse survivors, during and after the killing, Bill Neild SC said.

"She was observed to be behaving strangely ... whispering to herself, saying prayers in Arabic but saying them in the wrong order," Mr Neild said.

However, the crown prosecutor cast doubt over whether Noufl was sorry for killing her husband, or just for the impact it had on the rest of her family.

"It's very clear she demonstrated not the slightest bit of remorse until only recently," Mark Hay said.

Agreed facts state after the killing Noufl told a confidante why she attacked her husband.