The 45-year-old looked up and nodded as he was sentenced in the Victorian Supreme Court on Friday, as Maryam Hamka's family watched on.
Loughnane claimed the 37-year-old died of a drug overdose in the early hours of April 11, 2021, and his only crime was not calling an ambulance.
But the jury rejected that theory, instead accepting the prosecution's case that Loughnane fatally assaulted Ms Hamka with murderous intent.
He then dumped her body in a shallow grave at Cape Schanck in Melbourne's southeast, before leading investigators to her remains in August 2023.
Justice Christopher Beale described the murder as appalling as he sentenced Loughnane to 28 years behind bars.
He will be eligible for parole after 20 years.
Justice Beale said the murder happened in the context of protracted family violence, which was an aggravating feature.
"The fatal violence you inflicted on her was not an isolated incident," he said on Friday.
But Loughnane should receive some discount on sentence because he revealed the location of Ms Hamka's body to police, Justice Beale said.
Ms Hamka's family and friends watched from the public gallery as the sentence was handed down on Friday morning.
Her brother Ayman Hamka had called for "justice to be served" even though he acknowledged no sentence would ever bring his sister back.
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