Deborah Point was ordered to spend at least 20 years behind bars Friday for killing her roommate.

Point, 39, was convicted of second-degree murder in Nov. 2000 of the gruesome death of Audrey Trudeau, 44. Trudeau's dismembered body was found in several boxes in a residential garage in SW Calgary in July 1999, five months after she disappeared.

Court of Queen's Bench Justice Susanne Bensler described Point's attack on Trudeau as "an evil and cowardly act on a benefactor who had only treated her with kindness." Bensler said she's at a loss to determine the motive, calling it "a savage, brutal slaying with one devastating blow that crushed Audrey Trudeau's skull like an eggshell."

Point, who was dressed in black, sat expressionless, only making eye contact once with her mother. She told the judge she had nothing to say just before the sentence was delivered.

Members of Trudeau's family wept while the judge read her decision. Her brother, David, says he's satisfied with the sentence and suggested both families can now get on with their lives.

Point's lawyer, Alain Hepner, says the case has taken its toll on his client's family.

"I think they're devastated, everybody's devastated," he says.

Hepner says he'll meet with Point and her family this weekend to discuss the possibility of an appeal.

Jacquelyn Howard reports for CBC Radio

Jennifer Lyall reports for CBC Television