Milena Bogojevska, 51, sat stoic through most of her sentencing in the Victorian Supreme Court on Thursday as she was handed an eight-year jail term with a non-parole period of six years.
The sentence could take up a significant portion of her remaining life because of illnesses, the court was told.
She previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Lolene Whitehand, an 85-year-old who lived two doors down.
Bogojevska suffocated her elderly neighbour by shoving a tea towel into her mouth after the victim was seen walking into the yard of the killer's Footscray home on July 12, 2024.
She and Mrs Whitehand had no history of friendship or animosity.
But the killer's behaviour after her death was described as "opportunistic, calculated and self-serving" by Justice Jacinta Forbes.
"Your acts are unexplained and inexplicable," she said.
"Your continued silence around the surrounding circumstances compounds the grief of those around."
A bag was tied over Mrs Whitehand's head before the killer was seen on security footage dumping her body in the Maribyrnong River in Melbourne's inner west.
A fisherman made the discovery two days later.
Bogojevska joined a group of neighbours discussing Mrs Whitehand's disappearance the day her body was found, telling them she had not seen the woman for a week.
That was a lie and she had gone further by ransacking Mrs Whitehead's home.
The killer stole cash, jewellery, debit cards and IDs before splurging the money on lottery tickets, vouchers and ordering nearly $4000 worth of shoes and iPads.
Bogojevska told police she was not a killer when she was arrested four days later.
As detectives searched her home, couriers turned up to deliver the online orders linked to Mrs Whitehead's card.
Bogojevska was initially charged with murder, but prosecutors later accepted her plea to manslaughter.
Mrs Whitehead's daughter Samantha had to leave the courtroom for a brief period after becoming emotional during Thursday's sentencing.
In an earlier statement to the court, she had described the deep effect of Bogojevska's "callousness" to dispose of her mother's body in a river "as if it was a piece of trash".
Mrs Whitehand's son Gary O'Brien died in June, never seeing justice served on her killer.
Neighbours and friends described the 85-year-old as an extended part of their families and a grandmother to their children and the street.
Those attending on Thursday expressed visible shock and cried when the jail terms were announced.
Justice Forbes described Bogojevska's difficult upbringing in Macedonia and abuse after moving to Australia as a teen.
The killer wiped tears away when the judge referred to her close bond with her teenage son.
Justice Forbes considered the killer's guilty plea as an acceptance of responsibility despite her lack of remorse or contrition and said the burden of prison was already significantly more onerous.
Bogojevska has an autoimmune disorder and will be confined to dialysis for three days a week unless she receives a kidney transplant.
Her five-year survival rate on dialysis was 70 per cent.
"(As a) 51-year-old, there is a real possibility this sentence could take up a significant remainder of your life span," the judge said.
While she said the grief from Mrs Whitehand's death was immeasurable, Justice Forbes said the sentence was a "just punishment".
Bogojevska has served two years in pre-sentence detention.
She could be released on parole as soon as 2030.
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