The family of murdered Wagga chef Allecha Boyd has told the Supreme Court of their ongoing pain at not being able to lay her to rest.
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Ms Boyd's mother, father and sister read victim impact statements to the court, which sat in Wagga on Monday for the first part of a sentencing hearing for Samuel John Shephard.
Shephard, 39, has previously pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of Ms Boyd, as well as to a charge relating to drug supply.
Ms Boyd's father Ian Boyd said his daughter's death had "taken a huge toll on my life".
"I am slowly coming to grips with what has happened and that I will never see my beautiful daughter Allecha again," he said.
Mr Boyd told the court he had looked for his daughter's body, which has not been recovered despite searches.
"This is a job no father should have to do," he said.
Ms Boyd's mother Leah Freeman told the court the effect on her was "nothing short of horrific".
"I have so many questions that I know I may never get answers to," she said.
Ms Freeman said she and her family needed closure "and for Allecha to be laid to rest with the dignity she deserves".
The mother-of-four described her eldest daughter as a caring and selfless person who loved to cook.
"She was not a bad person. She made mistakes. We all do," Ms Freeman said.
"All in all, I just want to say 'give us back Allecha and then we may just be able to make peace with ourselves'."
Sister Rhiannon Boyd told the court her family's lives "have never been the same".
Crown prosecutor Trevor Bailey said it was the Crown's submission that Shephard's actions had in part been "because he intended to foster a reputation for himself in the drug community as a hard man".
This was challenged by defence counsel Eric Wilson, who had earlier told the hearing that Shephard "did not seek to place any form of subjective case because he accepts the seriousness of the offences as outlined in the agreed facts".
Mr Wilson told the court Shephard had previously attempted to help locate Ms Boyd's body and was still willing to assist police.
Ms Boyd, 27, was last seen between Wagga and Coolamon on August 10, 2017, being driven to Shephard's home to buy drugs.
Previous court hearings heard she was later taken to the outskirts of town, where she was confronted by a woman over an alleged break-in. Shephard then used a pistol to shoot Ms Boyd several times before he and another man, Anthony Shane Hagan, buried her in the Lester State Forest.
Tracy Lee King, Shephard's partner, was jailed in December for a maximum of two years and three months after also pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact.
