DEAN Latter was going to propose to his partner, Anne Bourke, the year that she died, at the age of 47, on February 15, 2020.
Instead, she was killed while crossing the road in Heddon Greta.
In a Sydney District court room on Wednesday (October 26) the 29-year-old responsible for her death, Katie Holmes, was sentenced to three years and three months in prison.
Holmes has been in custody since the end of her trial on July 29, 2022, when a jury convicted her of dangerous driving occasioning death. Her jail term ends on October 28, 2025, unless she is released early on parole, which becomes possible after 21 months in custody, on April 28, 2024.
In victim impact statements read out in court, members of Ms Bourke's family shared details about the many ways in which Ms Bourke's death has devastated them, their children, and family members.
Mr Latter said he still wakes up expecting Ms Bourke to be lying next to him. It's taken a long time, he said, to stop "setting up two things instead of one' - two towels, two dinner plates.
Her crossword magazines were still on the lounge, he said. "I haven't wanted to change anything." A month after his partner's death, the region went into COVID-19 lockdown.
"It was so hard being home alone ... I couldn't even visit her grave because it was outside my local government area," he said. He had told his friends about his plans to propose to her that year. "A lot of things have changed for me," he said.
"Any kind of siren or flashing lights brings me back to that night. I used to go to the pub on Sundays at 3pm with friends, but even that has changed."
The end of Mr Latter's statement was directed to Ms Bourke as if she might hear him.
"The next time I meet you will be at heaven's door," he said. "You will be there to meet me ... I will kiss your lovely face and this broken heart of mine will fall back into place."
Ms Bourke's mother, Carole Bourke, told the court in her statement, which was read aloud by her daughter, Deborah Meade, that no sentence would ever be enough.
Mrs Bourke had lost her husband of 52 years six months earlier. She had become accustomed to her daughter dropping in to visit her most days after work, and found herself isolated, made worse by the fact her telephone line was not working, and worse again when lockdown set in.
"She would have turned 50 in January next year," Mrs Bourke's statement said.
Holmes was doing up to 30km over the speed limit in a 60km zone, with methamphetamine and amphetamine in her system, when her Mazda struck Ms Bourke on Main Road, Heddon Greta, about 10.50pm.
Ms Bourke and Mr Latter had returned to Heddon Greta after attending a concert at Pokolbin that afternoon. It was about 20 minutes later, when Ms Bourke decided to go home, that she was struck and died at the scene.
On his way back home from Sydney, Mr Latter said no sentence "was ever going to be enough".
"We're never going to get Anne back," he said.
Mr Latter and his sister, Rachael, said they found the justice system difficult to fathom. Some seemingly lesser crimes had led to longer jail terms.
"It just doesn't seem right," Mr Latter said.
Their shared passion for all things horses is what brought Mr Latter and Ms Bourke together.
"I ran into Anne by chance at the Newcastle trots," he said. He was racing trotters, and she had been around horses all her life.
After work, they would be together at her brother's place working with the horses they kept there, sometimes not getting home until 7pm, he said in his statement as he wept in court.
"Everyone is finding it hard without her," he said. "I visit her grave every second weekend, and keep it clean and tidy for her. I visit her and celebrate birthdays with her and tell her what's been happening with everyone and how the horses are going.
"Anne is in my thoughts every single day."
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