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WEDNESDAY: KERANG woman Danielle Kerr will be sentenced tomorrow for the murder of William 'Bill' Stevenson, whose partial remains were found in the boot of a burnt-out car in Wellsford Forest in early 2014.

Kerr, 37, who appeared at a formal plea hearing at a Supreme Court sitting in Bendigo on Wednesday, has pleaded guilty to the murder of Mr Stevenson, of Kerang, on Christmas Day 2013.

The court heard about Kerr's troubled childhood and how she was addicted to the methamphetamine ice and on it at the time of Mr Stevenson's murder.

In entering the formal plea on behalf of his client, defence lawyer Scott Johns said Kerr was a woman who had led a life of drug abuse and addiction and by 2013 was "completely consumed" by her use of ice.

"The year 2013 was an on-again and off-again ice binge," he said.

Mr Johns said Kerr's employment history was "sparse" and included stints as a fruit picker and labourer, with her longest-held job being about two years at a bakery.

He said Kerr had a troubled childhood, characterised by lots of moving around, and was prone to bouts of low mood.

Mr Johns read parts of a psychological report which highlighted that childhood events left Kerr with significant issues including depression and agoraphobia with panic disorder.

He submitted that Kerr's history of drug use and psychological issues should place the events on Christmas Day 2013 in a different light. 

"The whole background of ice abuse and use of drugs can go some way to explaining what happened on the day," he said.

However Judge Forrest said he could not consider the use of ice as a mitigating factor in sentencing.

"I cannot excuse or mitigate criminal culpability," he said.

"The only motive available on the evidence is that she wanted to know what it was like to kill someone."

In outlining Kerr's rehabilitation prospects, Mr Scott noted her work as a barista in prison, where she was now drug-free and clear-headed.

"There are signs she will become a stable, better individual," he said.

In her brief address, Crown Prosecutor Lesley Taylor said the evidence before the court was that Kerr was the instigator of the crime.

"The Crown says this was very serious offending, and the description of a 'thrill kill' accurate," she said.

"It was a senseless attack on a man who had been nothing but kind and generous to the prisoner."

Judge Forrest said he would take into account the timing of Kerr's guilty plea on March 23, just days before a new Supreme Court trial was expected to start.

"By entering a plea of guilty on the Monday, she saved the community the cost and expense of a whole new  trial," he said.