But most of all, she knew she could rely on him.

   “I felt safe around him,” Kirsten said.

    To honour the man who had such an impact on her life, she decided only a lasting tribute - in the form of a tattoo - would do him justice.

   So in December last year, she had a portrait of Corey tattooed on her left arm

   “I thought about it for ages,” she said.

   “Everyone remembers him in different ways, but it’s how I want to remember him, my own way.”

   Kirsten knew Corey well - he was her mother’s partner for a number of years.

   She thought of him as family.

   What Kirsten remembered most was his love of his daughter, Jaela.

   “They used to listen to the song, Let Her Go, by Passenger together,” she said.

   “He’d fall asleep on the lounge room floor with her when she came to stay.

   “Jaela used to walk around the house and all I’d hear was dad, dad, dad…”

   Kirsten remembered Corey’s larrikin attitude, and his ability to put a smile on everyone’s face. 

   “He was so funny… just some of the stuff he did would always make us laugh.”

   But she struggles knowing she’ll never be able to turn to him again. 

   “He was such a big influence on my life,” she said. 

   “It’s so hard to move on, it doesn’t get any easier.

    “I’d give anything to see him again.

   “You get used to thinking someone is always going to be there.”

   Although desperate for someone to be held accountable for his death, she said the finality will bring its own challenges. 

   “When it’s all put to rest we’ll have to let him go for good,” Kirsten said.

   “But it’s important for everyone to keep talking about it.”

   “Keep talking, we want the people who did this to be brought to justice.”