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Daniel Morcombe Trial: Guilty Verdict

Bruce & Denise Morcombe. Inset: Daniel Morcombe

After more than 10 years, one of Australia’s biggest missing person cases has finally come to an end.

Father-of-three Brett Peter Cowan, 44, has been found guilty of murdering Queensland teenager Daniel Morcombe in 2003.

The jury deliberated for more than seven hours before handing down the verdict, finally bringing relief and justice to his family. Daniel’s parents Bruce and Denise, brother Dean, and his twin brother Bradley clasped hands before bursting into tears as the verdict was read out in the Brisbane Supreme Court.

"On behalf of our entire family, we thank everyone who has contributed to finding the answers and especially for never forgetting Daniel," said Bruce and Denise in a statement. "Thanks largely to the covert police involved and SES searchers plus scientific experts, a child killer has been exposed."

Denise and Bruce Morcombe leave the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014.

Daniel, 13, disappeared on Dec. 7, 2003, while waiting for a bus in Woombye on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Cowan, a registered sex offender, was arrested in 2011 following confessing to the crime to an undercover officer in an elaborate Queensland Police operation.

The eight-year investigation into Daniel's disappearance was the biggest policeoperation in Queensland history.

"This has been a lengthy, complex and very protracted investigation," said Assistant Commissioner Mike Condon outside the court. "I'm sure that [the Morcombe family] will be happy with the events today and the verdict,although their journey is not over."