IN the end there were no cheers, no emotional outbursts, just a whispered ''yes'' and quiet relief that justice had been served.
The historic Court One of London's Old Bailey was the fitting scene where a
16-month ordeal ended for two families, a community and a nation grieving the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman.
As Ian Huntley was sentenced to life, emotion remained in check, just as it had throughout the 30-day trial.
For the girls' parents - Leslie Chapman, 52, and his wife Sharon, 44, and Nicola Wells, 36, and her husband Kevin, 40 - hearing the word ''guilty'' announced to the hushed room brought sighs of relief, a smile and, finally, some silent tears.
It had been an anxious wait. The jury members had been deliberating for 17 hours and 32 minutes when they walked back into the courtroom just before noon.
Minutes earlier, the girls' extended families and lawyers had filed into court, exchanging nervous glances but not daring to utter a word about what was about to happen.
As Mr Justice Moses entered the court, someone in the back row mumbled: ''Here we go.'' But the nervous coughing and expectant speculation immediately ceased.
Huntley looked as though he might be sick as he was led up to the courtroom for the last time, but showed little other emotion, staring straight ahead, while Maxine Carr, his former lover, joined him in the dock.
The five men and seven women then filed back into the jury box. Not one of them looked towards the accused in the dock.
The single hushed ''yes'' resounded around the courtroom at the guilty verdict for Jessica's murder. Holly's little brother Oliver smiled but from his older relatives came soft sniffles then silent tears began to fall. Tissues were passed along the back row as the enormity of the occasion washed over the families.
There was no response from Huntley as the verdicts were read out. His hands clasped in front of his body, he stared straight ahead with no obvious signs of emotion. He only slightly lowered his head when the second guilty verdict was announced.
As Carr awaited her fate, she bowed her head, appearing to nod slightly at the words ''not guilty'' in respect of the charges of assisting an offender. Hands clasped in front of her, she held on nervously to one of her sleeves as she waited for the final count of conspiring to pervert the course of justice. On hearing ''guilty'', she looked up slightly.
When Mr Justice Moses handed down his sentences after a short adjournment, both families sat together calmly, looking straight at the defendants.
Only Mrs Chapman appeared to waver when the judge spoke directly to the parents, paying tribute to their courage and dignity throughout the ordeal of the trial. He said their suffering over the loss of their ''bright and life-enhancing daughters'' could not be imagined.
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