This is the man charged with the murder of Leeton teacher Stephanie Scott.
The first photo of Vincent Stanford, who has been charged with the murder of 26-year-old NSW teacher Stephanie Scott, has been revealed.
The photo appears on a Dutch identity card and has been published by MailOnline.
Mr Stanford, a cleaner at Leeton High School, where Ms Scott was a drama and English teacher, is charged with killing the young woman just days before her wedding to 24-year-old local abattoir worker Aaron Leeson-Wooley.
Ms Scott went missing on 5 April — Easter Sunday.
Within days, blood was allegedly found in Mr Stanford’s ute, and photos of a burned body were allegedly found on his phone. The man was arrested and taken to Leeton Police Station, where he was charged with Ms Scott’s murder on Thursday April 9.
Ms Scott’s burned remains were discovered on Friday 10 April in a national park in NSW. Daily Telegraph reports that court documents allege the young woman was murdered in Leeton between 11am and 7.20pm on Easter Sunday.
The photo emerged as 24-year-old Stanford’s former employer revealed his colleagues nicknamed him ‘King Kong’ on account of his strength.
MailOnline reports the quiet, 110kg man was so strong he could lift two wooden crates with a single hand, had trouble reading social situations.
“He is a big guy and exceptionally strong. I think it is part of his condition,” Stanford’s Dutch former boss Mireille Antonisse told MailOnline. “If he shut a tap even my husband could not open it again.”
Stanford was born in Tasmania in December 1990, and emigrated to The Netherlands with his mother and two brothers — including a twin brother — at the age of six, News Corp reports.
He returned to Australia 10 months ago.
Related content:
School cleaner charged with Stephanie Scott’s murder.
Stephanie Scott’s family should be celebrating a wedding, not preparing for a funeral.
A small town’s unforgettable tribute to Stephanie Scott.
Australian women share photos of their wedding dresses in memory of Stephanie Scott.
Opinion: “I choose not to remember this alleged murderer’s name. I will not.”
Top Comments
Violence against women is reaching epidemic proportions . Every news broadcast or each day's newspaper carries yet another story of someone's beloved daughter, sister, wife or mother being attacked, raped and murdered in a never-ending succession of male brutality. Yet there seems to be little outcry over this. If men were being attacked and murdered daily, I wonder if our Government and Courts would be reacting differently. They did over the spate of one-punch attacks. Laws were changed. As of the beginning of last year, there had been 90 victims of fatal one punch attacks in the 14 years since 2000. In only 9 years (between 2003-12) more than 1000 women were murdered by male perpetrators or partners. (And those are just the ones that make it to court. How many other women are dying after years of violence without the perpetrator ever being charged?). Every 3 hours, another woman is hospitalised, every week a woman is murdered.
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Women NEED the voices of good men. If men started speaking out, to denounce, revile and stigmatise such brutality, to damn and ridicule the brainless thugs of this world, such as Vincent Stanford (& his equally big, dumb lug of a brother) then perhaps change could be effected. While good men remain silent, women are left to try to battle this scourge alone. Secondly for attacks of brutal and sexual violence, such as this, we need to start imposing LIFE sentences. And a life sentence where the person knows they will NEVER be released and they will die in jail. If our Courts and our law-makers had the backbone to do this, at least it would send the message that if you involve yourself in such brutality you can expect to be punished to the severest degree. Currently such killers receive no more than 3 or 4 years - a minimal sentence and entirely worth the risk, especially when your motive is revenge on a partner, or if you are a predator such as this dimwitted cretin Vincent Stanford. You wouldn't think of attacking the Prime Minister (well, the good and decent among us, anyway). We need to make it equally unthinkable to attack a woman in this way.
Freak. Rot in Jail