Australian guilty of murdering teenager missing for decade

BRISBANE, Australia: A man with a long history of preying on children was found guilty yesterday of murder and interfering with a corpse in one of Australia’s biggest- ever missing person’s cases.

Father- of-three Brett Peter Cowan, 44, pleaded not guilty to the charges relating to the killing of Daniel Morcombe, 13, who was last seen waiting for a bus in northern Queensland in 2003.

His disappearance sparked a massive nationwide hunt, followed by years of false leads and dead ends avidly followed by public and press alike.

Cowan faces a life sentence for the murder with a minimum of 15 years without parole. He is expected to be sentenced next week.

The case came to trial after an inquest in 2011 prompted a breakthrough which saw Cowan charged with Morcombe’s abduction and murder after being caught in an undercover sting confessing to the killing.

Police began searching the Beerburrum State Forest for the teenager’s remains, where they found his bones in 2013.

His mother Denise said in a statement read out in court that she still had nightmares and was haunted by images of her son lying in ‘dark eerie bushland being destroyed by wild animals’.

“This day hasn’t brought closure, but the streets are safer without you walking them and looking for your next target to destroy,” she said.

The boy’s father Bruce added: “I often wonder about the other victims you have left in your wake. Sitting in the same room as you revolts me.” The jury accepted the prosecution’s case that Cowan abducted Morcombe, drove him to the secluded forest and choked him to death before disposing of his remains.

Documents painted a disturbing picture of a serial sex offender who had been abusing children since he was a child of nine or 10 years old himself. — AFP