UPDATED 6.14pm: A Whangarei man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his ex-partner.

Jimmy Akuhata has previously admitted killing Ashlee Edwards in 2012 when he drowned the mother of his two children.

Ashlee Edwards' mother and grandmother made victim statements to the judge today.

Karen Edwards broke down telling the judge of the emotional impact her daughter's murder has had on her family.

She then turned to Akuhata himself who stayed silent throughout the sentencing and told him she would never forgive him for what he did to her daughter.

Justice Ellis took the statements along with Akuhata’s guilty plea into account, sentencing him to life with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years.