Community shattered all over again after tragic death of Stephanie Scott's father
In March 2015, one month out from her wedding date, Stephanie Scott was busy preparing for her special day.
“So excited, not long now,” she wrote to her friends over Facebook.
“You will make a beautiful bride Steph,” came one reply.
But she never had the chance to walk down the aisle.
In the lead up to such a happy occasion, the Scott family were blindsided by the events of the following 18 months, with the devastating murder of 26-year-old Stephanie and the tragic accidental death of her father Robert who was was crushed by a falling tree on Tuesday.
Robert, known as Bob to his close friends, was a well-loved teacher in the tight-knit community of Canowindra where hearts were only just beginning to heal after Stephanie's death.
On Easter Sunday in 2015, Stephanie Scott was stabbed to death in a storeroom at the high school where she worked in the rural NSW town of Leeton.
She was due to marry to her childhood sweetheart Aaron Leeson-Woolley six days later.
School cleaner Vincent Stanford, 24, told the NSW Supreme Court in Griffith that he “went a little nuts” and punched her in the face repeatedly before stabbing her in the neck.
In a chilling confession tape, he told police he had no reason for the horrific attack, but simply “had to kill her”.
“I think I have mental problems - I didn’t feel angry, I just wanted to kill,” he said.
On October 13, Stanford was sentenced to 15 years in jail for aggravated sexual assault, as well as a life sentence for murder.
He will die behind bars.
Outside court last month, Stephanie’s mother addressed the media with Bob by her side.
"Losing her has shattered so many lives and we are all struggling with the consequences," Merrilyn Scott said.
“Stephanie would want us to resume our lives. We need to be kind to ourselves and let the music and fun back in.
"We need to be able to fade from public view, to mourn our beautiful girl and work our way through our grief.”
That night, the Scott family celebrated Stephanie's life ahead of her birthday the following day.
Stephanie's sister, Kim Scott, shared a photo of Bob holding a beer while talking with friends and family - one of the last photos taken of her father.
Merrilyn Scott's emotional wishes to privately mourn her daughter’s death and return to a somewhat normal life were cut short after her husband's sudden death on Tuesday morning.
Less than three weeks after Stanford’s sentencing, Robert was killed when a tree fell on him at the family’s farm in Canowindra.
Robert Scott, a former head teacher at the local high school, was clearing trees on his property on Tuesday when one fell and crushed him.
Tributes have flooded on social media, with devastated members of the public expressing renewed heartbreak for the Scott family.
“Mr Scott was my teacher for industrial arts many years ago. This is terribly sad. I'm sorry for what this family has had to endure. RIP Mr Scott and my thoughts are with the rest of his family,” one person wrote.
“My heart is breaking for this family and I don’t even know them... At least father and daughter are together now if that's any comfort to the Scott family,” another said.
“Oh my god this poor family seriously... How much they have had to go through over these last 18 or so months and now this... My heart breaks... I cannot imagine what his wife and family are going through right now... RIP,” another tribute read.
