The family of a Christchurch woman murdered by her mental health patient gardener, say she would have forgiven him

Elliot Alfred James Cameron has pleaded guilty to the murder of Frances Phelps, known as Faye, at her Mount Pleasant home last October.

Specifics of the murder can't be reported until the man's sentencing in June, but it can be revealed he was a patient at Hillmorton Hospital at the time.

Police previously said the pair knew each other - the 76-year-old was the woman's gardener.

Phelps' daughter Karen says her mother was a dedicated, compassionate Christian, who would have accepted what happened to her and found forgiveness.