But former rugby player Paul Darren Mulvihill was seething with anger that his relationship with his former lover was over.

He had stalked her at work, on Facebook and tracked down her new address where he waited for her to arrive home in July 2012.

Mulvihill, now 48, then broke into Ms Yeo's apartment and fatally stabbed her in the neck and the chest.

During his five-week murder trial Crown prosecutor Maria Cinque SC described the attack as "a bloodbath".

Now, Mulvihill is appealing his murder conviction, claiming he was provoked by Ms Yeo who refused "to have contact with him".

On Monday barrister Doug Marr told the Court of Criminal Appeal that his client was appealing his conviction on 10 grounds including provocation.

Justice Julie Ward asked Mr Marr, "What's the provocation?"

Mr Marr responded by saying, "A man in a relationship with a woman who is distressed, emotional, she's refusing to have contact with him and in fact making comments," he said.

"He wants to see her, he wants to speak to her in the process of that occurring an argument develops, he says something, he slapped her and then she takes hold of a knife… not only threatened him with it, lunges at him causing a cut, a laceration."

During the trial the former pharmaceutical salesman from the Gold Coast, claimed he stabbed Ms Yeo in self defence after she grabbed a knife.

Mr Marr also told the court that the trial judge erred in the direction given to the jury in regards to self defence.

The trial also heard how Ms Yeo and Mulvihill had met while working at pharmaceutical company Sanofi Aventis and began an affair while both were involved in long-term relationships.

Mulvihill's wife found out about the affair and Ms Yeo told Mulvihill their relationship had to end because "it's best for both of us".

A jury took just two hours to find Mulvihill guilty of murder in March, 2014.

He was later sentenced to a minimum of 22 years in jail by Justice Elizabeth Fullerton who described the murderous attack as "sustained and vicious".

At the time Justice Fullerton said Ms Yeo would have experienced "extreme terror" during the attack and "an indescribable trauma when she knew that there were people trying to help her on the other side of the door".

Mulvihill also was appealing his sentence, with one of the grounds being that he suffered from depression at the time of the murder.

"The offender was clearly in an emotional state," Mr Marr told the court.

Throughout the hearing Mulvihill, who appeared via audio-video link, took notes and occasionally sipped on water and juice as he sat in the Mid North Coast Correctional Centre.

A panel of judges will hand down their judgment at a later date.