A 46-year-old man has been jailed for life for the murder of 78-year-old Rose Hanrahan in Limerick more than three years ago.
Ms Hanrahan was found violently assaulted at her home on New Road Thomondgate on 15 December 2017.
Alexandru Iordache, originally from Romania, last month pleaded guilty to her murder.
Ms Hanrahan was a widow and lived alone.
Gardaí believe she was killed during a robbery and they identified Iordache as the primary suspect.
He fled the country and remained at large for over two years.
Gardaí secured a European Arrest Warrant and Ioradache was subsequently found in the UK and extradited from Sussex in January 2020.
Ms Hanrahan's niece, Avril Kenny, said the last three-and-a-half years have been very difficult for the family.
She said the life sentence handed down to Iordache brings them no reprieve, but at least it means he will not be able to cause this pain to another family.
Detective Garda Enda Haugh told the sentence hearing that Ms Hanrahan had lived alone, her husband having died a number of years earlier.
"She was well-known, well loved, and had a huge amount of connections with the community," he said. "She was described by her neighbours as a lady you could rely on."
He said her body had been found by her sister and her family when they called to the house for a visit.
Det Gda Haugh told the court there were thousands of door-to-door inquiries and questionnaires, but Iordache had no ties to the community.
He said 100,000 hours of CCTV were examined and this proved instrumental in terms of identifying her killer.
Footage from the Tesco in Coonagh on 13 December showed someone looking over Ms Hanrahan's shoulder as she inputted her pin while using her bank card to pay the cashier.
More CCTV footage showed that this person then followed her home. His car was seen in the vicinity of her home again on 14 December, and did not leave until after 11am on 15 December.
Her family found her body at 1.15pm and it is not known when he committed the murder.
As well as the CCTV evidence, the killer had also left behind DNA, which was found during the crime scene analysis.
DNA was extracted from this blood and sent to a number of countries inside and outside the EU.
Investigating gardaí engaged with French, UK, Swiss and Romanian authorities, which led to them identifying Iordache as the source of the DNA.
Gardaí learned that he had travelled to Ireland on 12 December and was here until 21 December. In that time, he was suspected of other opportunistic thefts of elderly people, including another on 14 December also in Tesco, Coonagh.
Investigators travelled to Romania, where he had returned, and two more DNA samples were attained.
He was interviewed by police there and it was put to him that he had been in Ms Hanrahan's home and committed the killing. He denied it, and could not explain why his blood sample was left behind.
Gardaí also tracked his movements while he was in Ireland. The car he used was found on 27 December in Rosslare, from where he had left. DNA samples from the car matched those found at the scene and his own DNA sample taken in Romania.
Det Gda Haugh said that Iordache had 29 previous convictions, including eight from Ireland. All were related to theft.
He also had convictions from the UK, France and Romania. All related to theft and robbery, and he received sentences of up to eight years in prison.
Ioradache was extradited from Sussex in England in January, 2020. His trial was due to commence this month, but he entered his plea a number of weeks ago.
Iordache's barrister, Seamus Clarke, said that any words expressed on behalf of his client would ring hollow, and noted that a plea of guilty to murder was unusual.
Justice Michael White said that it was the duty of the court to impose the mandatory life sentence.
"This was a horrific and needless crime perpetrated on a vulnerable and kind lady, who lived a very rich life," he said. "She was ruthlessly targeted and shown no mercy."
He expressed his deepest sympathy to her family and friends.
"I know that she will be remembered at a better time than today," he said.
Iordache's life sentence was backdated to 16 January 2020, the date he was extradited to Ireland.
'We are all left tormented with questions. It has changed who we are'
Ms Hanrahan's niece, Avril Kenny, read a victim impact statement on behalf of her family.
She said that anyone lucky enough to know her aunt, knew her as being a most compassionate person.
"She was described as being like a fairy godmother," she said. "She went out of her way to make people happy."
Ms Kenny said that her aunt had loved children, to whom she was generous, not just in the gifts she gave.
"She always saw something special in people and encouraged us," she said.
"She was always a positive influence on us all. We loved her like a second mother," she explained.
She had also been a loving wife, she recalled.
Ms Kenny said that her aunt had enjoyed the simple things and was religious, going to Mass every Saturday evening.
She loved her home, pottering around her garden, going to the shops and listening to classical music.
Most of all, she loved being surrounded by family and friends, she said.
Ms Kenny described her aunt as an amazing, kind and loving sister, "my mother's best friend".
"To see the effect of Rosie's loss on my Mum has been heart-breaking," she said. "It has extinguished a light in her."
It was this sister, who had found her dead, as she and younger family members called in on their way to see Santa that day.
Ms Kenny described the grief, fear, anxiety, stress and worry that the family experienced due to the manner of her death.
"We are all left tormented with questions. It has changed who we are," she said. "The senseless murder instilled a sense of fear across the community among the elderly."
Ms Kenny said that, although her aunt was a strong, independent person, she was also a 78-year-old widow, alone and vulnerable. The thoughts of how scared she must have been had haunted them.
"After 78 years of kindness to everyone, she deserved a peaceful death," she said. "She will remain in our hearts forever."
