During the sentencing, emotional victim impact statements were read out in court.
Joanne Penney’s son, Cody Griffiths said: “I can’t put into words what’s happened to our family.
“To have the person who brought me into this world and gave me life to be taken away from me in such an awful way is something I will never come to terms with.
“You shot my mother through the heart and shot her whole family through the heart too. I will never get to see or speak to her again.
“You will never begin to imagine what you have taken from us. To you she meant nothing but to us she meant everything.
“My mother will never be able to see me get married, will never get to meet my children. Can you imagine living life without your mother?”
A statement from Joanne Penney’s two teenage daughters was also read out.
They said: “We’re writing this to the people who killed our mum and anyone who helped them to explain how you changed our lives forever.
“Being told our mum was killed is something we’ll never forget. How could someone do something so cruel?
“We felt lost, scared, and angry. We still feel this way. Now we keep asking ourselves why our mum was shot? Was she frightened? Did she know what was happening? We can’t stop thinking about her last moments. It must have been terrifying for her and it’s very painful for us to imagine.
“We were given memory boxes but we didn’t have any memories to put inside and we never will. Our dad died when we were little and you have taken our mum, our history has been taken away.
“We remember her taking us to the beach and giving us ice cream. She was beautiful. We hoped one day we would see her again, to tell us about our childhood and family but that hope is gone. That hurt is more than you will ever know.
“You didn’t just take our mum but our past, future and chance to know who we are and where we come from. You have left us as orphans.
“We will never truly know her as people who are grown up, this future is gone forever. We will live with this pain for the rest of our lives.
“Please remember that and ask yourselves how you would have felt as a child if your mum was shot for no reason.”
The court and six defendants also heard a statement read out on behalf of Joanne Penney’s mother, Sharon Penney.
She said: “I come from a large, close and happy family but this awful thing that has happened has affected all of us as parents, siblings, children, grandparents, aunties and uncles.
“We’re horrified and miss her so much. It’s hard seeing pain on your three children’s faces having lost their sister. I am in tears every time I look at them.
“I have nightmares about what happened and wake up screaming and crying only to realise it’s not a nightmare, it’s real.
“To this day I am still not able to move back into my house and live with my brother and his wife. I’m too scared to be alone, scared of myself and the depths of my depression.”
