Queensland foster father Rick Thorburn will spend at least 20 years behind bars after killing the young girl he was meant to care for.
Thorburn has been jailed for life, meaning he'll spend at least two decades behind bars, for killing his 12-year-old foster daughter Tiahleigh Palmer and dumping her body in a Gold Coast river in 2015.
A supplied image obtained Sat. Nov. 7, 2015 shows Tiahleigh Palmer, 12. Source: QLD POLICE
The 57-year-old murdered the girl who was in his care after his son Trent committed incest and became concerned she was pregnant.
Tiahleigh's badly decomposed body was found on the banks of the Pimpama River, six days after her foster father claimed he'd dropped her safety at school.
In sentencing Thorburn, Supreme Court Justice David Boddice said his crimes were cold and callous.
"You murdered this defenceless child who relied on you for protection," he said.
Thorburn wiped away tears as he replied "guilty" to charges of murder, interfering with the 12-year-old's corpse, perjury, and attempting to pervert the course of justice on Friday morning.
Just metres away, Tiahleigh's biological mother Cindy Palmer finally got the admission she had waited years for - that the man trusted with caring for her daughter actually committed her murder.
Schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer. Source: Queensland Police Service
Police who doggedly pursued justice for the schoolgirl were also in the court.
The court heard Tiahleigh was first placed into care in 2010, aged seven.
In January 2015, the Thorburn family became her full-time carers.
Nine months later, Trent told his cousin he committed incest and was concerned she was pregnant.
While she was showering, he also told his mother about committing incest with his foster sister.
She assured Trent it would be sorted out and told Rick Thorburn.
He was concerned about the revelation and that it could cause Trent to go to jail.
"We need to think this through, deal with this properly," he said.
Rick Thorburn has pleaded guilty to murdering schoolgirl Tiahleigh Palmer. Source: AAP
Between about 8pm and 10 pm on October 29, Rick Thorburn murdered her, the court heard.
The Thorburn family then had a meeting at which Rick said "it's all taken care of."
He later told the family they had to take care of Trent and crafted a lie for them to try and cover up the murder.
The foster father is the last member of his family to be sentenced over the crime.
Thorburn's two sons and wife have also been jailed.
Trent, who admitted to committing incest with his foster sister, was jailed in September 2017 for a maximum four years after pleading guilty at the Beenleigh District Court to four charges, including incest.
His mother Julene spent six months behind bars after pleading guilty in November 2017 to perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The Thorburns' eldest son, Joshua, was sentenced to three months in jail in July 2017 after pleading guilty to same charges as his mother.
