Wayne Quinlan's anguish at daughter's murder: 'He drinks to numb the pain'

Simone Quinlan was dumped at a mineshaft in regional Victoria and set alight after she was brutally bashed, tortured and shot in August 2015. Photo / Supplied

Sometimes, late at night, Wayne Quinlan heads out to the bush to sit and drink by an old mineshaft in regional Victoria where his daughter's body was found.

It's the hole in which Simone Quinlan was dumped and set alight after she was brutally bashed, tortured and shot in August 2015.

Her violent boyfriend Brendan Neil was responsible, and his friend Wayne Marmo helped.

The parents of murdered Melbourne mother Simone Quinlan, Lynda and Wayne, are seen outside the Supreme Court of Victoria with supporters wearing red in Melbourne in December. Photo / AAP

Mr Quinlan has struggled to come to terms with his 33-year-old daughter's murder.

His wife Lynda Quinlan says everyone grieves differently, and Wayne chooses to take flowers to the Kangaroo Flat site.

"There have been times when late at night he needs to go to the mine shaft and sit," Mrs Quinlan told the Supreme Court on Thursday.

"He drinks to numb the pain and our neighbour has driven him many times.

"Grief is deeply personal and it has made us feel very lonely."

Mrs Quinlan also spoke of a haunting moment her husband experienced when he delivered Simone's coffin to a funeral home.

It was there he saw the body bag and was compelled to see proof it was her inside.

"Against the advice of staff, he ripped open the staples of the bag Simone was in," Mrs Quinlan said.

"I later learned that she was unrecognisable, reduced to a skeleton after she was set on fire.

"That will haunt us for life, especially Wayne, as he saw what was left of our daughter."

Mrs Quinlan was speaking at a pre-sentence hearing for a man who pleaded guilty to being an accessory to the murder.

Luke Marmo, 26, saw Neil's assault on Ms Quinlan and purchased the fuel that was used to burn her body.

He also helped sand the floor of the Melton home where the mother-of-two was attacked, removing the blood stains to conceal the crime.

Neil bashed Ms Quinlin, hit her over the head with a hammer and taped her mouth shut, telling her she looked beautiful.

A supplied image from 2015 shows then missing woman Simone Quinlan. Photo / AAP

He was punishing her for telling police he had previously hit her with a baseball bat.

During the assault, Wayne Marmo sat in the kitchen, filing the barrel of a rifle as he smoked "ice" with friends.

It's unknown whether Ms Quinlan was already dead when the pair loaded her in Marmo's ute.

Marmo then drove her to the mineshaft, stopping on the way to shoot her in the head about five times.

"So many people were involved in the murder of Simone," Mrs Quinlan told the court.

"And we cannot understand why none of them tried to save her."

Neil pleaded guilty to murder and he was jailed for 26 years. A jury decided Wayne Marmo was also guilty of murder and he was imprisoned for 24 years.

Luke Marmo will be sentenced at a later date by Justice Jane Dixon.