One week before her wedding, on the Easter Morning in 2015 Stephanie Scott decided to stop by her classroom at Leeton High School to go over her lesson plans and other coverage documents she’d left for the substitute teacher one final time. By midafternoon, her fiancé
Aaron grew anxious by unanswer…One week before her wedding, on the Easter Morning in 2015 Stephanie Scott decided to stop by her classroom at Leeton High School to go over her lesson plans and other coverage documents she’d left for the substitute teacher one final time. By midafternoon, her fiancé
Aaron grew anxious by unanswered calls and texts, and reported her missing with Leeton Police. The Leeton community rallied, coordinating search efforts to this beloved member of their town. Sadly, on April 9th, twenty-four-year-old Vincent Stanford was formally charged with the murder of Stephanie Scott. The arrest of Vincent Stanford came as a surprise to Stephanie’s friends and family, particularly because, as far as anyone could tell, he was little more than a stranger.
Thank you to the Incredible Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research and Writing support!
References
Australian Associated Press. 2016. Stephanie Scott's killer Vincent Stanford told police he 'went a little nuts'. October 10. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/11/stephanie-scotts-killer-vincent-stanford-told-police-he-went-a-little-nuts.
Australian Broadcasting Company. 2015. Stephanie Scott: 24-year-old school cleaner kept in custody over murder of teacher from Leeton, NSW. April 8. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-09/man-charged-leeton-schoolteacher-stephanie-scotts-murder/6379516.
—. 2016. Stephanie Scott: Cleaner Vincent Stanford pleads guilty to teacher's rape and. July 19. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-20/stephanie-scott-murder-accused-vincent-stanford-pleadsguilty/.
—. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Mother of missing teacher from Leeton fears search is 'running out of days'. April 8. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-08/mother-missing-leeton-teacher-stephanie-scott-fears-search/6378256.
—. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Police say burned body found in Cocoparra National Park believed to be that of missing teacher. April 10. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-11/stephanie-scott-police-searchers-find-burned-body-near-griffith/6385584.
Brooks, Emily. 2016. This is what we know about Stephanie Scott's killer so far. October 12. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.huffpost.com/archive/au/entry/this-is-what-we-know-about-stephanie-scotts-killer-so-far_au_5cd41819e4b0ca9b77563363.
Fairfax Media. 2015. "'Devastated:' Communities mourning murdered bride-to-be Stephanie Scott." Central Western Daily, April 9.
Harris, Janice. 2015. "Tears for Stephanie: Canowindra grieving for 'absolutely wonderful girl'." Central Western Daily, April 9.
Harvey-Jenner, Catriona. 2016. Man's chilling google searches before he murdered a bride-to-be have been revealed in court. October 11. Accessed July 13, 2023. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/reports/news/a46516/murderer-chilling-google-searches-bride-rape-kidnapping/.
Levy, Megan. 2015. "'No way it's cold feet!'." Illawarra Mercury, April 8.
Partridge, Emma. 2015. "Stephanie Scott's alleged killer not rostered to clean school." Central Western Daily, April 9.
Partridge, Emma, and Megan Levy. 2015. "Car found, cleaner charged with murder of Stephanie Scott." Canowindra News, April 9.
Patterson, Monique. 2020. United in Grief: The story of Stephanie Scott's Beautiful Life, Tragic Murder, and How Her Death Broke the Heart of Leeton NSW. Milwaukee, WI: Genius Publishing.
Pattison, Talia, and Daisy Huntly. 2015. "Have you seen Stephanie Scott." The Irrigator, April 6.
Reneker, Tony. 2022. "Stephanie Scott case 'changed' inspector's life." The Irrigator, September 1.
Shields, Moyra. 2015. Stephanie Scott: Missing teacher from Leeton in NSW Riverina due to get married on Saturday. April 6. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-04-07/missing-teacher-from-leeton-nsw-riverina-region-was-due-to-marry/6374992.
The Guardian. 2016. Stephanie Scott killer Vincent Stanford sentenced to life for murder. October 12. Accessed July 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/oct/13/stephanie-scott-killer-vincent-stanford-sentenced-to-life-for.more
Stephanie Scott was just days away from marrying her long-time partner when she went into her empty high school on Easter Sunday to prepare lesson plans for the substitute teacher. That morning, she was tragically murdered.
Vincent Stanford, the school janitor, was arrested after police found evide…Stephanie Scott was just days away from marrying her long-time partner when she went into her empty high school on Easter Sunday to prepare lesson plans for the substitute teacher. That morning, she was tragically murdered.
Vincent Stanford, the school janitor, was arrested after police found evidence linking him to the crime—scratches on his body, bloodstains in his car, and disturbing photos of Stephanie’s body on his phone.
He pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. But what we’ve learned since is that Stephanie wasn’t even his intended victim.
Sarah Crawford, a journalist who’s been following this case for the past decade, joins us now.
CREDITS
Guest: Sarah Crawford
Host: Claire Murphy
Producer: Tahli Blackman
Audio Producer: Jacob Round
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April 11th, 2015, was supposed to be Stephanie Scott's wedding day.
She could not be more excited, having planned every little detail. The final thing to sort out, was the handover for the teacher that would be taking over her classes while she was on her honeymoon.
But when she didn't come home f…April 11th, 2015, was supposed to be Stephanie Scott's wedding day.
She could not be more excited, having planned every little detail. The final thing to sort out, was the handover for the teacher that would be taking over her classes while she was on her honeymoon.
But when she didn't come home from school that day, panic quickly set in...
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The rape and murder of country schoolteacher Stephanie Scott by school handyman Vincent Stanford just a week before her wedding shocked Australia. Journalist Monique Patterson was the editor of the local paper The Leeton Irrigator at the time, she talk...
26-year-old Stephanie Scott was a high school teacher in Leeton, Australia. She was well-loved by friends, family, and her students. She was set to be married to the love of her life, but just days before her wedding was to take place she was killed by a monster. Friends and family searched for Step…26-year-old Stephanie Scott was a high school teacher in Leeton, Australia. She was well-loved by friends, family, and her students. She was set to be married to the love of her life, but just days before her wedding was to take place she was killed by a monster. Friends and family searched for Stephanie after she failed to return home or answer cell phone calls. No one was prepared for the truth of what happened to the beloved teacher.
Join Mike and Gibby as they discuss the murder of Stephanie Scott. 24-year-old Vincent Stanford was a loner who preferred to spend his time playing on-line video games. The rest of his time was spent stalking women, meticulously detailing out their routines in his journal. Stanford was a cleaner at the high school where Stephanie taught. She was just one of many victims he had been stalking. But sadly, Vincent found his opportunity to strike when Stephanie was at the school finishing up some work.
A big thanks to Monique Patterson for her help in writing this episode. You can find Monique's book about Stephanie's murder called United in Grief at these links:
When 26-year-old school teacher Stephanie Scott disappeared days before her wedding, her fiance immediately knew something was wrong. She wasn’t the type of person to vanish without a trace, or get cold feet.
An immense manhunt was swiftly organised with locals of the small town of Leeton, where St…When 26-year-old school teacher Stephanie Scott disappeared days before her wedding, her fiance immediately knew something was wrong. She wasn’t the type of person to vanish without a trace, or get cold feet.
An immense manhunt was swiftly organised with locals of the small town of Leeton, where Stephanie lived. It would be a devastating four days until Stephanie’s fiance and family were given the worst possible news.
In this episode, we speak with Leeton local Monique Patterson who was one of the journalists who covered Stephanie’s disappearance.
She has since written a book on the case of Stephanie Scott, titled; ‘United In Grief: The Tragic Story of Stephanie Scott's Murder and the Effect it had on the Small Town of Leeton NSW’.
CREDITS
Guest: Monique Patterson, author of United In Grief
Host: Jessie Stephens
Producer and editor: Elise Cooper
RESEARCH
• United In Grief: The Tragic Story of Stephanie Scott's Murder and the Effect it had on the Small Town of Leeton NSW, book by Monique Patterson, https://bit.ly/34klKNJ
• Stephanie Scott Missing, 7 News Sydney https://bit.ly/2VaEbjN
• Man charged with murder of missing NSW teacher, SBS world News, https://bit.ly/2XjFkZi
• Stephanie Scott Murder Arrest, 9 News Adelaide https://bit.ly/3e5Rgna
• Stephanie Scott Murder timeline, SBS News https://bit.ly/3e3PDGy CONTACT US
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If any of the contents in this episode have cause distress know that there is help available via Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636
Become a Mamamia subscriber: https://www.mamamia.com.au/subscribe
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.more
