An Australian accountant who bludgeoned to death his lottery winning friend because she was frittering away the money, has been sentenced to 18 years in jail.

Peter Joseph Kelly had been friends with Maria Lou Devrell and her husband David for around 20 years before he murdered her on March 28 2011, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

In 1999, David Devrell scooped $AUS5m (£3.2m) in the Oz Lotto and duly entrusted his friend Kelly to manage the couple's windfall.

But tension quickly escalated between Kelly and Maria Devrell over her spending habits, with the accountant repeatedly telling her that her spending pattern was unsustainable.

Events came to a dramatic head in March last year when, during an argument at Devrell's home, she allegedly pushed him when he refused to hand over more money.

Kelly - who told police that he 'saw crimson' - then fetched a heavy rubber mallet from his car, wrapped it in plastic wrapping and beat Devrell over the head.

He then strangled her to death.

Devrell's daughter found her in a pool of blood some hours later.

Kelly pleaded guilty five months later.

At the NSW Supreme Court, Justice Robert Hulme, said he rejected Kelly's argument that he had not intended to kill and had been provoked.

'The offender took the deceased's purse to make it look like a robbery gone wrong,' he said.'That is in keeping with a logical train of thinking, not a loss of control.'

But he accepted that Kelly's actions were an 'uncharacteristic aberration in an otherwise blameless life of a good man'.

Kelly stood motionless as he was sentenced to a maximum of 18 years jail with a minimum of 13 years.