1. Dad’s emotional warning as his 16-year-old daughter’s killer is sent to jail.
Jayde Kendall’s father Bruce speaks about his daughter after Brenden Bennetts was found guilty of her murder https://t.co/d4X10PVIPt pic.twitter.com/roBT4gZhA1
— ABC News Brisbane (@ABCNewsBrisbane) September 14, 2017
The father of murdered Queensland schoolgirl Jayde Kendall has warned the parole board to “think about your own children” when considering releasing her killer Brenden Bennetts in the future.
Bennetts, 21, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday after a jury took just four hours to reach a guilty verdict for murder, AAP reports.
Jayde was last seen alive getting into Bennetts’ distinctive red Toyota Corolla after school about 3.20pm on Friday, August 14, 2015. And prosecutor Vicki Loury QC argued it was likely Jayde was dead not long after 4pm.
Loury said Bennetts was a “very good actor” and destroyed all things linking himself to Jayde, including her belongings and text messages showing the pair were meeting up for sexual activity. “He let her family search for her in the vain hope she was alive,” Loury told the court.
The trial heard Bennetts withdrew money from Jayde’s bank account and had searched YouTube for “best way to dispose of a body” the day before he killed her.
Justice Ann Lyons said Bennetts had betrayed the trust of an inexperienced girl, telling him: “Your ability to calmly detach from events around you is alarming and concerning as is your calculated web of lies and deception.”
Outside the court, Jayde’s father Bruce Morrissey sent a message to the parole board who may one day decide to release Bennetts back into the community.
“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,” Morrissey said. “I just want her to be remembered for the spirt that she was – a kind, innocent girl who was taken too soon. There was no need for it. No need for it.”
2. Police want your help locating a 10-year-old girl missing in regional Victoria.
Police are appealing for public assistance to help locate missing girl Cecilia Johnson-Brown. → https://t.co/dTCmJE1GuW pic.twitter.com/KMeQhsp1IA
— Victoria Police (@VictoriaPolice) September 14, 2017