THE mother of the teenage backpacker whose murder two years ago shocked the nation is to marry the man who helped her through the crisis.

Marjorie Stuttle, 55, said it was only the support of soulmate David Marks that stopped her from taking her own life in the wake of her daughter Caroline's death.

Caroline was 19 and enjoying a backpacking trip to Australia when she was thrown to her death from a bridge in Bundaberg two years ago.

By a twist of fate, the about-to-be-married couple had their first date on the day Caroline was murdered - and Marjorie's final text message from her daughter was: "Have a nice time with David."

Marjorie met David through a mutual friend and she said he had given her the strength to carry on.

"Without him I don't think I would still be here. I didn't really want to live at the time," she said.

"Our marriage is a bit of good news out of the tragedy."

Marjorie, of Pocklington, set up Caroline's Rainbow Foundation in her daughter's memory to help young travellers abroad.

She said David was among those who arrived at her house in the hours immediately after the police broke the terrible news.

He quietly adopted the role of "middleman", fielding calls from the Foreign Office and fetching Caroline's brother from the airport.

David, 57, who said the couple planned to marry in August or September, said: "I think we knew from the moment we met that we were meant to be together."

Meanwhile, Caroline's father, artist Alan Stuttle, has revealed he plans to open a gallery in New Zealand and spend six months of each year there.

Mr Stuttle, 65, has closed his studio in Micklegate, York, although he still runs an art shop in North Marine Road, Scarborough.