The family of murdered teen Michelle Bright was plagued for 20 years by the idea that her killer was still at large.
They eventually witnessed Craig Henry Rumsby receive a minimum 19-year prison term on Monday morning for the early-morning murder of the 17-year-old on February 27, 1999.
High school student Bright was attacked by Rumsby as she made her way home from a friend’s birthday celebration in Gulgong, central western New South Wales.
Acting Justice Robert Hulme said that Bright most likely died by suffocation or strangulation, both of which are forms of violence that guarantee the victim will suffer.
The court said that it must have been “horrific and terrifying” for Bright.
Acting Justice Hulme stated to the NSW Supreme Court in Dubbo on Monday, “The perpetrator must realize that the victim’s life is in their hands and thereby has a choice to desist at any point.”
“In this instance, the criminal made the ruthless and irresponsible decision to keep going until Ms. Bright’s young body was lifeless.
“This is an extremely serious case of murder,”
Less than two kilometers from the house where her family resided at the time, her body was discovered in the grass on Barneys Reef Road three days after she passed away.
Rumsby confessed to undercover police in 2020, but his defense team claimed the statements weren’t trustworthy.
The former truck driver, 56, was convicted in June of killing Bright and making a horrific attempt to rape another adolescent on January 1, 1998.
Rumsby was given at least seven and a half years in prison by the judge for the attempted rape in 1998.
According to Hulme, “the incident must have been absolutely terrifying for.”
“The attack was accurately described as fierce by The Crown.”
Bright’s family mentioned going 20 years without learning what had happened to “Shell” during a punishment hearing last week.
During a victim impact statement, Shell’s brother Leslie said, “We tried to navigate life without Shell, while the monster that took her away from us continued to live their life.”
Rumsby harassed and abused several young ladies while he was unrestrained.
In 2014 and 2020, according to court records, he was found guilty of indecent assault and non-consensual sexual touching for licking a retail employee and forcibly kissing a lady he accosted on a train.
He additionally carried out a sexual act in a Sydney park in 2019.
After a lengthy history of unpleasant behavior, robbery, drunk driving, and violence, Rumsby committed those offenses while he was out on bail.
Rumsby will serve a minimum of 24 years and a maximum of 32 years in jail for the attempted rape and murder of Bright.
