Guy family's 'long and difficult year' since killing

Scott Guy and wife Kylee. Photo / Supplied

Kylee Guy will mark a year since the murder of her "beautiful husband and love of my life" by unveiling a headstone for him with family and friends.

Feilding farmer Scott Guy was shot and killed on the driveway of his farm on July 8 last year. His brother-in-law, Ewen Macdonald, has been charged with the murder but has pleaded not guilty.

Mrs Guy said it would be a year since she lost her "best friend, soul mate, husband and the most amazing father".

"Time has not helped to heal the pain I am feeling nor understand why we have not woken from this horrible nightmare," she said.

Mrs Guy - who was pregnant with the couple's second son, Drover, when he was gunned down - said the unveiling would be, "all about Scotty and how wonderful he is".

Mr Guy's sister, Anna Macdonald, wife of the man accused of the killing, last night told the Herald she couldn't believe it had been a year.

"It's been such a long, difficult year, one that has changed my life forever. Friday will be an extremely hard day to get through ... Scott has left such a big hole in our hearts."

She said she would have been "lost" without the love and support from her friends and family. "My head gets a bit full some days, but it's getting easier."

The mother-of-four visited her husband in jail regularly. "He's as good as you can imagine, I suppose. We miss each other terribly. It's quite hard."

Her children also kept her going by making her laugh and giving her cuddles.

Mrs Guy said her sons, Drover, 9 months, and Hunter, 3, were her whole life and she planned to uphold the dreams and aspirations their father had for them.

"The hardest part is that Hunter and Drover will have to live the rest of their lives without their devoted and loving daddy."

She knew he would have been an amazing father. "He would have been cuddling his newborn son Drover, looking down at a spitting image of himself, he would be watching and smiling at all his milestones.

"He would be taking Hunter out on the farm, reading him his favourite bedtime stories, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride and joy at his beautiful boys - 'his cowboys'.

"He would have been the most amazing husband as always, making me feel like I'm the luckiest woman in the world - feeling his warm cuddles, kisses and telling me how much he loves me."

The shooting shattered their perfect life and robbed the chance they had to live together.

Life had been a continuous struggle since and she still felt like he would be coming home.

He would always be her "beautiful husband and the love of my life" as well as the "best daddy in the world", Mrs Guy said.

Scott Guy's parents, Bryan and Jo Guy, said the past year had been one of immense upheaval and challenge. "The heartache we experience is not something we expect to overcome, but rather learn to live with. Anniversaries of a week, a month or a year seem insignificant. Time does not lessen the pain of losing a beloved child."

They coped by remembering good times and focusing on what they had left. "Because of Scott we have learned to appreciate each moment and try not to hold on to things. What used to be important is no longer, and priorities change."

Support of friends and strangers had given them courage to go on.

"Scott's death has been like a huge ripple in a pond and it has impacted on so many people. We are forever grateful to everyone for their kindness to us and our family."