Homicide · Leeton, NSW
Leeton teacher Stephanie Scott disappears days before her wedding
The 26-year-old Leeton High School teacher was last seen on Easter Sunday. A school cleaner was charged with her murder days later.
First published 7 April 2015 · ABC News
Stephanie Scott, a 26-year-old English and drama teacher at Leeton High School in the NSW Riverina, was last seen on Easter Sunday, 5 April 2015. She was due to be married the following Saturday.
She was reported missing on 6 April. Her family and fiance described the disappearance as out of character, and a public appeal spread quickly on social media.
On 9 April 2015 police charged Vincent Stanford, a 24-year-old cleaner at the school, with her murder. Police identified her car, found at a property at Wamoon, and a residential address in Leeton as crime scenes.
What happened next
At the time of the 2015 reports Vincent Stanford was charged and had not been convicted. He later pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced in 2017 to life imprisonment without parole.
Sources
- Stephanie Scott: Missing teacher from Leeton due to get married on Saturday — ABC News, 7 April 2015
- High school teacher and bride-to-be Stephanie Scott vanishes from Leeton — Sydney Morning Herald, 7 April 2015
- School cleaner kept in custody over murder of teacher from Leeton — ABC News, 9 April 2015
Dates
- Event
- 5 April 2015
- First published (2015)
- 7 April 2015, ABC News
- Added to this archive
- 20 October 2026
- Last updated
- 20 October 2026
Retrospective summary, added to this archive on 20 October 2026. It was written later from the contemporary reports listed above.