Mark Lundy has been convicted of murdering his wife Christine and daughter Amber at their family home in Palmerston North 15 years ago.

At the High Court in Wellington this afternoon, Lundy, 56, was again found guilty following a retrial, and was immediately sentenced to life in prison for the pair's murder, which took place on August 30, 2000.

Lundy was immediately sentenced to life in prison. Photo: File.

Lundy has been set a minimum non-parole period of 20 years.

Following the verdict, Detective Inspector Marc Hercock acknowledged all of those who have assisted in the homicide retrial along the way.

'This has been an emotional and stressful time for Christine and Amber's family,” says Marc, 'who have had to go through the whole judicial process again.

'While this outcome by no means makes up for the loss of Christine and Amber, we hope it provides some form of closure.

'I want to acknowledge Crown Law and the investigation team, who have worked diligently for more than 18 months, carefully reviewing evidence and preparing for trial, as well as the witnesses and experts who have contributed their time and expertise to this trial.

'The role of the police is to gather all information available, assess it for its relevance to the case and present the evidence gathered to the court and then leave it to the jury to make a decision.”

The jury, which consisted of seven men and five women, began considering their verdict on Monday.

Lundy was accused of staging a burglary and killing Christine, 38, and seven-year-old daughter Amber with a small axe, which has never been found.