Craig Rumsby, Michelle Bright's murderer, jailed for 32 years

The man who murdered Gulgong teen Michelle Bright 24-years ago will spend 32 years behind bars.

Craig Henry Rumsby sat red-faced, looking down at his hands clasped in front of him, as he faced sentencing in the NSW Supreme Court in Dubbo on Monday, August 7.

Behind him in the gallery, Michelle Bright's friends and family, all dressed in purple, applauded and shed tears of relief as Acting Justice Robert Hulme read his decision.

For the murder of Michelle Bright, the 56-year-old was sentenced to 27 years in prison with a non-parole period of 19 years.

Acting Justice Hulme said the killing of Bright - likely by suffocation - was "brutal and terrifying".

"However long it was, it must have been enough time for Ms Bright to realise she was helpless to her life being taken from her," he said.

"Killing a person by suffocation or strangulation takes a significant degree of effort... it takes time.

In this case, brutally and callously, the offender continued to progress until Ms Bight's body was lifeless. This is a very grave example of the crime of murder."

Michelle Bright was killed after leaving a friend's 15th birthday party in 1999 and her body was found hidden in long grass by the side of Barneys Reef Road in Gulgong.

Her blouse had been pushed up, the clasps of her bra ripped off and her jeans and underwear were around her ankles.

The family were left without answers until June this year when jurors found Rumsby guilty of Michelle's murder and choking another 18-year-old woman with intent to rape her in January 1998.

Rumsby committed both crimes while he was free on bonds after a long history of offensive behaviour, robbery, drink driving and assault.

For the attempted rape, Rumsby was sentenced to ten years in prison with a non parole period of seven years and six months, bringing Rumsby's total sentence to 32 years and 24 years without parole.

Acting Justice Hulme said both crimes were especially serious due to the sexual motivation and violence behind them and the age of the victims.

He also noted the broader impact Ms Bright's murder had on the community.

"The harm suffered by the Bright family ... is beyond description," he said.

"It is little wonder that grief continues to this day, 24 and a half years later. Today marks the closure of their pursuit for justice. But there can never be closure in any other sense.

Every unlawful taking of a human life harms the community in some way but none more than the tragedy that is the murder of a child."

Rumsby's sentencing hearing began on Friday, August 4 when the court heard victim impact statements from Michelle Bright's family and friends.

"Michelle gave me so much joy whatever she did, she was a lovely fun-loving girl. She was loved by all who knew her," mother Loraine Bright told the court.

"All her dreams were stolen and shattered and as her mum my dreams were shattered too."

The defence presented evidence of Rumsby's declining physical health due to a heart condition and Rumsby's solicitor, Albert Chen, took to the stand to give evidence about two alleged attacks Rumsby faced earlier this month while locked up in Bathurst prison.

Both of these factors - as well as Rumsby's past history of sexual crimes against young women - were taken into account in Acting Justice Hulme's decision.

Court documents show Rumsby was convicted of indecent assault and non-consensual sexual touching in 2014 and 2020 for groping and licking a retail worker and forcibly kissing a woman he approached on a train.

Rumsby will be eligible for parole on August 10, 2044.

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