Two years after Elizabeth Booshand died after being stabbed outside the Charnwood shopping centre, her family says they will not have closure until justice is served.
But they face an agonising wait.
The woman charged over Ms Booshand's murder, 37-year-old Rebecca Anne Massey, has pleaded not guilty and is unlikely to face trial in the ACT Supreme Court until 2012.
Ms Booshand's partner of 20 years, Terry Rogers, said the delay had placed an enormous strain on his family.
''We live day to day praying that one day soon Lizzy will get justice and our family can have some closure,'' he said.
''If we don't get a trial for two more years, that will make it four years after the day our family lost a loving mother and my soulmate. To leave a family like this is unbelievable. The ACT legal system and the ACT Government have a lot to answer for.''
In an attempt to escape painful memories, Mr Rogers and his 10-year-old daughter moved to Brisbane to be with two of Ms Booshand's older children, 27-year-old Nicci and 26-year-old Rebecca.
He said he was frustrated that the Government had declined his request for help with moving costs but had given the accused a public housing unit in Ngunnawal.
Mr Rogers' youngest daughter said she longed for her mum's hugs and kisses.
''It's sad you missed my 10th birthday,'' she wrote in a letter to her mother.
''I've learnt how to play soccer, I have my own laptop, I have had my first dance concert, I have learnt how to rollerblade by myself... I love anything and everything you did.''
Massey has been committed for trial but the case in unlikely to be heard before 2012 due to a backlog of cases in the ACT Supreme Court.
She has been on bail since June last year and must abide by strict conditions, including that she report to police weekly, not leave her house between 8pm and 6am and not leave the territory.
She is also forbidden from visiting the Charnwood shops and contacting 68 people listed as witnesses in the case.
For more on this story, see the print edition of today's Canberra Times.
Source: The Canberra Times
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