More than 40 years ago, Roxlyn Bowie disappeared, leaving behind only a letter to the family she purportedly abandoned.
But on Friday, her now 72-year-old husband John Douglas Bowie was told he would likely spend the rest of his life behind bars for killing the 31-year-old after manipulating her into writing the callous message.
Bowie was sentenced to a maximum of 24 years in prison with the possibility of parole in 2037.
In October, a jury found Bowie guilty of murdering his then 31-year-old wife in the northern NSW town of Walgett on or around June 5, 1982.
Bowie has always denied his involvement in the disappearance, but Justice Dina Yehia was satisfied he killed his wife in order to seek a sexual relationship with a younger woman.
More than 40 years ago, Roxlyn Bowie disappeared, leaving behind only a letter to the family she purportedly...
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Roxlyn Margaret Bowie went missing from her Walgett home in 1982. Her husband John was found guilty of her murder in 2022(Supplied: NSW Police Media)
NSW Supreme Court Justice Dina Yehia on Friday said she found Bowie entirely without remorse and was satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that he was motivated to kill his wife to have "an unfettered relationship" with another woman.
However, Justice Yehia said any pre-meditated planning by Bowie was not "extensive or sophisticated."
A jury found the 72-year-old guilty of Roxlyn Bowie's murder in October last year after just four-and-a-half hours of deliberation.
Outside court, Brenda Boyd, the daughter of Roxlyn and Bowie said it was a "bittersweet" outcome and the judge was "very fair" in explaining her sentencing.
“It's justice for my mum,” she said.
"Not closure for me because I still don't know what happened or where her remains are, but it's definitely justice."
It's "justice for my Mum" says the killer's daughter as he is sentenced to almost certainly die in jail, but a grim question goes unanswered: where are Roxlyn Bowie's remains?
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