THE family of murdered Wagga woman Allecha Boyd has spoken about their continuing heartache after the man accused of her murder pleaded guilty.
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Samuel John Shephard, 37, appeared in the NSW Supreme Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to the 2017 murder of Ms Boyd.
Ms Boyd, 27, who worked as a chef, was last seen travelling in a green Subaru between Wagga and Coolamon on August 10, 2017.
Despite police conducting numerous searches of the Lester State Forest, where she is believed to have been buried, her body remains missing.
Ms Boyd's mother, Leah Freeman, said she and the family were still heartbroken despite the guilty plea.
"Nothing will ever be the same again," she said.
Speaking from Victoria, Ms Freeman said the family's main goal is "to bring Allecha home".
"Our hope is that Sam Shephard works with the police to show where he disposed of my child after he executed her," she said.
Ms Freeman, who recently marked what would have been her daughter's 30th birthday, broke down in tears and said it felt like they were left in limbo and wanted closure.
"He's still breathing, but with my Allecha everything is gone. I just want to get a photo of that bastard and put his face up everywhere, so people know who he is and what he looks like," she said.
Ms Freeman thanked the Riverina police for their tenacity and the "respect they've shown towards our family."
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Similarly, Ms Boyd's sister, Rhiannon, said they "just need the answer about where her remains are".
"I'm hoping that we can get one soon," Rhiannon said.
"The detectives said they're going to go back out to the forest.
"I just hope he's not pulling our leg - in that he's pleaded guilty but says he can't find her body."
In court on Friday, Shephard also pleaded guilty to drug supply. In March, he was committed to stand trial after a hearing in Wagga.
One witness who gave evidence during the hearing spoke about hearing two gunshots in a remote dirt lane in Coolamon on the day Ms Boyd disappeared.
The witness, who broke down in tears numerous times, said she heard the gunshots after walking away from a heated discussion between Shephard and Ms Boyd.
"He told me not to mention it to anyone else," the witness said.
Nothing will ever be the same again.
- Leah Freeman, mother of Allecha Boyd
Shephard's admission may entitle him to a small reduction on his sentence, set to be handed down on February 3 next year.
In early September, co-offender Tracy Lee King, 36, admitted to being involved Ms Body's death by pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact to murder.
King, a Coolamon woman, also appeared in court on Friday and had her sentencing set for December 2.
A third offender, 21-year-old Anthony Shane Hagan, was sentenced earlier this year to jail for almost five years after admitting in late 2018 to burying Ms Boyd's body.
Hagan confessed to taking her body from about five kilometres south of Coolamon to a remote location within the Lester State Forest.
Once there, Hagan said he helped dig Ms Boyd's grave and covered her body with dirt and small branches.
During his sentencing in Wagga Supreme Court, Ms Boyd's family and friends, who had love-heart shaped badges pinned onto their clothes in memory of her, filled the court gallery.
Justice Richard Button said Hagan's offence was undoubtedly a serious one.
"Doing such a thing surely attracts the condemnation of the community and a sentencing must reflect that condemnation," Justice Button said at the time.
- With AAP