Dad warns authorities over parole for killer
JAYDE Kendall’s grief- stricken dad is urging parole authorities to think of their own children when they debate the release of the schoolgirl’s cold, calculating killer in 20 years or more.
His emotional plea comes as it can be revealed the smoking gun that helped convict Brenden Bennetts of her murder – a YouTube search for “best way to dispose of a body” – almost wasn’t shown to the jury because of a police bungle in the lead- up to the trial.
Jayde, 16, went missing on August 14, 2015 after Bennetts picked her up from Lockyer District High School, and she was found dead in a paddock 13 days later.
Bennetts callously lied about killing her for more than two years, until he pleaded guilty to manslaughter when his trial began in the Supreme Court last week and tried to argue he accidentally strangled her to death during sex.
But the prosecution vigorously pursued the 21- year- old for murder, with a jury convicting him yesterday and choosing to watch as he was sentenced to life in jail.
Jayde’s father, Bruce Morrissey, said he always knew his daughter was murdered in cold blood and urged the Queensland Parole Board to think carefully when potentially debating Bennetts’ release when he is eligible to apply after serving 20 years.
“Think about those that you love and care about around you and then ask yourself would you feel safe, him being around your daughters, your children,” he said outside court.
The bombshell evidence – the YouTube search the day before Jayde died for “best way to dispose of a body” – went unnoticed by investigators until day one of the trial, when a police computer analyst reexamined the material.