Brett Peter Cowan has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of 13-year-old Daniel Morcombe.
Judge Atkinson sentenced the 44-year-old to a non-parole period of 20 years, adding that he was “beyond rehabilitation” and “a convincing and habitual liar”.
Cowan was charged on Thursday, 10 years after Daniel went missing on the Sunshine Coast.
A jury of six men and six women voted unanimously to find the father of three guilty of all three charges against him including murder, indecently dealing with a child under the age of 16 and improperly dealing with a corpse.
Cowan, who changed his name to Shaddo N-Unyah Hunter when he became a suspect, showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.
Daniel’s mother Denise and twin brother Bradley cried – those words ended a 19-day trial in which 116 witnesses gave evidence, and a decade-long fight for justice for their family.
The Morcombe family members including Daniel’s parents Denise and Bruce and his brothers Bradley and Dean provided victim impact statements to the Brisbane Supreme Court.
“You made one monumental mistake that day,” Bruce said in his statement to Cowan.
“You picked on the wrong family. Our collective determination to find Daniel and expose a child killer was always going to win.”
The family also posted the following message to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation facebook page.
“On behalf of our entire family we thank everyone who has contributed to finding the answers and especially for never forgetting Daniel. Please support Daniel’s legacy of Keeping Kids Safe through the initiatives of the Daniel Morcombe Foundation. Denise and Bruce x”
Daniel was abducted and murdered on the afternoon of Sunday, December 7, 2003 when he was lured from Nambour Connection Road under the Kiel Mountain Road overpass on the Sunshine coast.
The trial has revealed that he was dead within an hour and his body dumped in an overgrown, isolated sandmine.
His remains were not discovered until 2011 when Cowan led a group of undercover police officers to the site after confessing.
Cowan’s confession came when an undercover police officer posing as a crime boss got him to admit to the murder. The footage was shown to the court during the trial.
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