A NSW man who murdered a teenage girl more than two decades ago in a “savage” killing will spend at least 24 years behind bars.
Craig Henry Rumsby was found guilty of murdering Michelle Bright, 17, after she left a friend’s 15th birthday party in Gulgong in February 1999.
The 17-year-old’s body was found hidden in long grass by the side of the road.
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Her blouse had been pushed up, the clasps of her bra ripped off, and her jeans and underwear were around her ankles.
A jury found Rumsby guilty of murdering her in June this year, 24 years after the crime was committed.
He was also found guilty of choking an 18-year-old woman with intent to rape her in January 1998.
On Monday, in the Supreme Court of NSW in Dubbo, Rumsby was sentenced to a total term of 32 years in prison for both crimes, with a non-parole period of 24 years.
Applause broke out in the courtroom as Acting Justice Robert Allan Hulme handed the sentence down.
Hulme found Michelle likely died through strangulation or suffocation.
“Killing a person by suffocation requires a significant degree of effort, it takes time,” he said.
“The perpetrator must realise that the victim’s life is in their hands and thereby has a choice to desist at any point.
“It must’ve taken enough time for Ms Bright to realise she was helpless.
“In this case, brutally and callously, the offender chose to continue until Ms Bright’s young body was lifeless.
“This is a very grave example of the crime of murder.”
In a sentence hearing last week, the court heard of the profound impact the murder had on Michelle’s family.
“All her dreams were stolen and shattered and as her mum, my dreams have been shattered too,” her mother Loraine said.
“Losing Michelle in the way we did has left a gaping hole in my heart.”
In the years following the murder, the court heard Rumsby was convicted of indecent assault and non-consensual sexual touching in 2014 and 2020 for groping and licking