A North Queensland mother who spent 15 years not knowing what happened to her 21-year-old son finally has some answers after his killer was jailed for life.
Jay Brogden was last seen in Airlie Beach in 2007 and his body has never been found.
Gavin Philip Parnell, who was Mr Brogden's friend, was accused of his murder in 2019.
A seven-day trial in Mackay last week heard Mr Parnell was being threatened with a gun to his back, when he shot Mr Brogden and dumped his body in the ocean off the coast of Shute Harbour.
An eight-woman, four-man jury deliberated into Friday night, taking six hours to reach a decision.
At 9.30pm, they returned their verdict — Gavin Philip Parnell was found guilty of murdering Jay Brogden.
After waiting 15 years for answers, Jay Brogden's mother Gina Merritt was there for every second of the trial alongside other members of his family.
"We didn't know what was going to happen until the final verdict came out," Mrs Merritt said.
"Those hours waiting were just horrendous, very emotional … very hard."
Mrs Merritt's eyes glistened with tears when the jury returned its verdict, an automatic sentence of life in prison for her son's murderer.
'I will not miss another Christmas'
After being dismissed, the majority of the jurors returned to the court to hear Mrs Merritt's powerful victim impact statement.
"I stand here today not by choice, but because something very precious has been taken from me — my son, my firstborn," Mrs Merritt said in a choked voice.
"For 15 years, we have been searching for answers. We have investigated and done our own searches, and looked at every face in the crowd.
"So desperate to find Jay, we put our own lives on hold and in danger in the process."
Mrs Merritt cried as she spoke about the last time she had seen her son.
He had been visiting her in Brisbane for his 21st birthday and planned on moving back.
"The last time I saw Jay was in the month before he went missing," Mrs Merritt said.
"He was hugging me as I begged him not to go.
"He said to me 'I'm coming back mum, I love you and I promise I will not miss another Christmas'."
Mrs Merritt told the court how in 15 years, she had not been able to help put up a Christmas tree.
Questions remain
Addressing Mr Parnell, Mrs Merritt spoke about the toll he had inflicted on her family, including Jay's father who still could not speak about his son without breaking down.
"Gavin, you did not just take a life that day, you took a piece of everyone's life that knew and loved Jay — and you just keep taking," she said.
"The emotional and financial toll you also placed on myself and my family have reshaped our goals and our future."
Mrs Merritt spoke about the time she had knocked on Mr Parnell's door and "listened to [him] act concerned".
"You approached my family, had Jay's belongings returned and pretended you didn't know where Jay was," Mrs Merritt said.
"Not once did you tell the truth."
But Mrs Merritt said while Mr Parnell's conviction was a relief, the road for justice for her son is far from over.
"There's a lot of questions that we still have, 15 years is a really long time to wait to get any sort of answers," Mrs Merritt told ABC Tropical North.
