THE mother of Bronwynne Richardson says after "hanging in there for 42 years" she is "absolutely devastated" at charges being dropped against the man accused of murdering her daughter.
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![Free to go: Colin Michael Newey walks through Sydney airport after his arrest last year. Free to go: Colin Michael Newey walks through Sydney airport after his arrest last year.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/35f856a5-5d0c-4d6b-aa6e-0ea6979547d1.jpg/r579_177_2977_2317_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Department of Public Prosecutions on Tuesday withdrew murder, rape and abduction counts against Colin Michael Newey who was charged last year over the death of the Corowa teen.
Newey, from Murray Bridge in South Australia, was on bail and not in Albury Local Court.
No reason for the decision was given in court, but the DPP told The Border Mail "there was no reasonable prospect of conviction with the available evidence".
A five-day committal hearing had been scheduled from November 23.
Parents Noelle and Stan Richardson and sisters Fiona and Janet were told by the DPP last Wednesday it was likely the case against Newey would be axed, with that result confirmed on Monday.
"I'm devastated, absolutely devastated," Mrs Richardson said.
![Mystery remains: Bronwynne Richardson after winning the 1973 Corowa Show Girl crown. Mystery remains: Bronwynne Richardson after winning the 1973 Corowa Show Girl crown.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/9e7262ff-f5fe-4365-9300-5896834084ba.jpg/r305_0_1864_1378_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
"We've lost everything; I think we were relying on some honesty to come forward and someone to give us some peace of mind.
"We've been hanging in there for 42 years, somebody knows something and they're not coming forward, that's for sure."
![Sad site: The words 'Rest in Peace' will continue to be absent from Miss Richardson's grave at Carlyle cemetery. Sad site: The words 'Rest in Peace' will continue to be absent from Miss Richardson's grave at Carlyle cemetery.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/XJLgPnEdnKaFugZzKyL6Sw/92bd9091-c9e5-4129-9c0c-c72ee62898b9.jpg/r497_239_3687_3071_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Mrs Richardson, whose husband is ill, said she was "hoping against hope" for a resolution in the case, but noted sadly a $200,000 reward failed to succeed.
"We're just so disappointed in our fellow human beings," Mrs Richardson said.
"Nobody bothers about the reward...it was not enough temptation."
Fiona Richardson said the case's failure was like losing her sister all over again.
"She doesn't have 'rest in peace' written at her grave and that was something we all were really hoping we would be able to put on that headstone and we can't do that until someone is held accountable," she said.
"A committal hearing would have been some sort of accountability, this person would have to come to the court from South Australia and face my parents and the evidence would have been in the public domain.
"The DPP has robbed us of that and in doing so they've robbed Bronwynne."
The DPP said police had not briefed its representatives before laying charges against Newey and there had not been advice sought on the matter.