Nikita Chawla brought "love, light and life" to everyone around her, says her family.
But the man who vowed to cherish her above all else allegedly ripped it all away in a murderous rage.
Nikita's husband, 29-year-old Parminder Singh, stands accused of stabbing her to death in the couple's Brunswick West flat in January.
Charged with her murder the following day, Singh has indicated he will plead not guilty on the grounds of mental impairment.
Nikita is one of 48 Australian women who have died violently this year, according to research project Counting Dead Women Australia.
Not all are victims of family violence, but the figure "highlights the severity of the problem we have in Australia about violence against women", Nikita's brother, Tarang Chawla says.
"Nikita's death was a shock and each day is difficult, and with the court case against the alleged killer looming, some of the hardest days are still ahead of us," he told AAP.
Tarang Chawla believes his sister's death was preventable and hopes the Royal Commission into Family Violence, which opens in Melbourne on Monday, will help stem the problem.
So too do police, politicians and the almost 1000 other people and groups who have made submissions to the inquiry.
Victoria Police is proposing a warning register so people can find out if their new love interest has a history of violence, sexual assault or child abuse.
The idea is based on the United Kingdom's Clare's Law that recognises the "right to ask" and the "right to know" about a person's criminal background.
Under the system, officers would also be given the power to advise people of known safety risks to them or their children.
The royal commission was a 2014 election promise by Premier Daniel Andrews, following the death of young Luke Batty.
The 11-year-old was murdered by his father at cricket training early last year, a tragedy that spurred his mother, Rosie, to campaign against domestic violence and push for reform.
At the time, Andrews called domestic violence the state's most urgent law-and-order emergency.
"I can't promise to keep every woman and child safe but I am prepared to try," he said.
"The whole system is broken. It doesn't protect the vulnerable, it doesn't punish the guilty and more of the same policies will only mean more of the same tragedies."
Tarang Chawla would agree.
His family is urging mandatory coronial inquests in an attempt to offer a semblance of closure to grieving families, and significantly stricter sentencing for violent offenders.
The commission will hold public hearings until August 14 and provide its report and recommendations to the government by February 29, 2016.
Tarang said his family hoped the government would not sidestep its responsibility to implement measures that would encourage stronger acceptance of gender equality.
If found guilty, his brother-in-law could be one of the first offenders dealt with under Victoria's new baseline sentencing regime, introduced in November last year.
For murder, the median sentence is 25 years, with a minimum non-parole period of 17.5 years.
"But Niki's death was preventable and it points to the importance of primary prevention," her brother said.
"Changes to the law are helpful but they are small comfort to victims' families who have already lost a loved one. Stopping violence is paramount."
FAMILY VIOLENCE - THE NUMBERS:
VICTORIA
* costs the Victorian economy $3.4 billion annually
* makes up 40 per cent of the work done by its police
* is responsible for the deaths of eight women in 2015
* was the reason for 68,134 incidents reported to Victorian police last year or about one every eight minutes
* was a related cause in 44 deaths in 2013.
AUSTRALIA
* was a leading contributor to death and disability in women under 45
* is behind the deaths of 48 women in 2015 according to Counting Dead Women
* accounts for 75 per cent of all assaults against women
* equates to one in three women experiencing partner violence in their life
THE ROYAL COMMISSION INTO FAMILY VIOLENCE:
* was a 2014 Labor election promise following Luke Batty's murder
* is expected to take 12 months and cost $50 million
* has received almost 1000 submissions
* is led by Commissioner Marcia Neave
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