Thread: Daniel finally going to be laid to rest

Young Daniel Morcombes remains, who 9 years ago at the age of
13 years was abducted and murdered, will finally be returned to his
parents today.
The team for the defence have finally approved release.

The Morcombes have been the perfect example of patience,
understanding and incredible bravery throughout this whole matter
Their tolerance and their determination to make something good of this
whole ordeal has truly made them a shining example of what we should all
aspire to be.

I hope and pray that the Morcombes and all their family and friends and all those involved in the case find some peace through this development.

I believe much better than a star athelete or actor the Morcombes deserve some sort of recognition for the way theyve handled themselves, be it an
Order of Australia or similar or even a Pride of Australia courage or community action award.


Spare a thought(and maybe a prayer) for them today as you go about your business

Timeline: the case of Daniel Morcombe - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)



DANIEL Morcombe's family will finally lay their son to rest, nine years to the day after he went missing.
Daniel's funeral will be held on Friday, December 7, the anniversary of his 2003 disappearance, his mother Denise said on Friday.

She said it would be a public ceremony and people would be invited to wear some red and donate to the Daniel Morcombe Foundation instead of giving flowers.

"It's to be a positive celebration of Daniel's life," Mrs Morcombe told AAP.

The funeral will be held at the St Catherine of Siena Church at Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast.

The plans follow the state coroner's sudden decision a day earlier to release Daniel's remains, which were found more than a year ago in bushland in the Glasshouse Mountains.

Earlier, the Morcombes said they were shocked but relieved at the decision.

"It means everything. We've been waiting nine years and we can put Daniel to rest now," Mrs Morcombe told reporters outside the committal hearing for Daniel's accused murderer, Brett Peter Cowan, 42.

The hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday heard disturbing evidence about the afternoon Daniel vanished.

Two witnesses told of seeing a man in an older model blue sedan at the overpass where Daniel went missing.

Nambour resident Keith Lipke said he saw someone under a tarpaulin in the back seat of a blue car.

The sedan was being driven by a clean-shaven man with brown hair past his collar, Mr Lipke said.

"When I looked at the back seat, it had a tarpaulin over it and it appeared to me there were kids playing under it, jumping around," he told the court under cross-examination.

Mr Lipke saw the man turn to the back seat with an annoyed expression and say something.

"As he went past (I noticed) that the tarp was taut. It wasn't flying around any more."

He said he saw a flash of red under the tarpaulin, "like Santa Claus".

Daniel was wearing a red T-shirt on the day he disappeared.

A second witness said she saw a "clean-cut" man standing by the passenger door of an older blue sedan with NSW number plates.

Lily Obah told the court it looked like the man was pushing someone's head down in the front seat as she drove past.

Outside court Cowan's lawyers said they expected the judge to decide the crown had a case and commit their client to a trial.

But defence lawyer Tim Meehan said there was no direct evidence against the 42-year-old, who is charged with murder, child stealing, deprivation of liberty, indecent treatment of a child and interfering with a corpse.

Any trial would probably be a year off, Mr Meehan's colleague Michael Bosscher said.

Daniel was 13 when he disappeared while waiting for a bus on the Sunshine Coast in 2003.

The hearing continues on Monday.



Read more: Daniel Morcombe's funeral set for Friday | News.com.au