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Cleaner Vincent Stanford Pleads Guilty To Murder Of Teacher Stephanie Scott

The bride to be's life was cut short days before her wedding and honeymoon.
Stephanie Scott's burnt remains were found on the outskirts of Leeton.
Supplied
Stephanie Scott's burnt remains were found on the outskirts of Leeton.

School cleaner Vincent Stanford has pleaded guilty to the rape and murder of NSW teacher and bride to be Stephanie Scott on Wednesday.

Vincent pleaded guilty at the Supreme Court four months after his twin brother Marcus pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact.

Scott's burnt body was found in the Cocoparra National Park, about 70 kilometres from the town of Leeton, where she worked as a teacher at the local high school.

Vincent Stanford, a 25-year-old cleaner at the school, was arrested four days after her disappearance, charged with sexual assault and murder.

His twin brother was arrested in June last year and charged with being an accessory after the fact. He was extradited from South Australia to NSW at the time after he allegedly received a number of items in the post connected to Scott's death.

She was on the verge of marrying her partner, Aaron Leeson-Woolley. She was a devoted, loving family member who adored her students and was looking forward to being a married woman. In the eyes of those who knew her, there was no way she would have disappeared voluntarily.

Stephanie Scott's remains were found on the outskirts of Leeton.
Facebook / Fairfax Media
Stephanie Scott's remains were found on the outskirts of Leeton.

Scott was last seen on Easter Sunday, April 5, preparing lessons for a relief teacher who would look after her students while she was on her planned honeymoon the following week.

Police, family and friends immediately launched a painstaking search involving divers and hundreds of volunteers. Scott's family hired a helicopter to help in the search for her car which was eventually found abandoned in a field at Wamoon, near Leeton.

Leeton Volunteer Rescue members search for the body of murdered school teacher Stephanie Scott.
Fairfax Media
Leeton Volunteer Rescue members search for the body of murdered school teacher Stephanie Scott.
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