A Melbourne man has been sentenced to 25 years’ jail for bashing his ex-wife with a table leg and then strangling her with an electrical cord after they had an argument over a heater.

Mehmed Solmaz, 62, killed Fatma Solmaz, 61, after they had an argument in the home they shared in Sunshine West in 2017.

Ms Solmaz was in remission from leukaemia when she was killed by her former husband.

Solmaz then fled to Queensland but was arrested two days later at Goondiwindi, in the state’s south-east, and extradited to Victoria.

In sentencing, Supreme Court Justice Andrew Tinney described the crime as one of “extravagant drawn-out violence”.

“You obtained an electrical cord, wrapped it around her neck and pulled it tight to strangle her,” Justice Tinney told Solmaz.

“You intended to kill her.”

Solmaz pleaded guilty to murder in August 2018.

He had claimed that his former partner attacked him first.

The court heard the pair married when they were both teenagers in Bulgaria.

It was an arranged marriage and they had two sons before separating in 1993, but lived in the same home for financial and cultural reasons.

Justice Tinney said he found Solmaz’s culpability “exceedingly high” because of their relationship and the trust Ms Solmaz should have been able to have in him.

“You proceeded with hatred and malevolence to end her life,” the judge said.

“The life of Fatma was precious. You took it away.”