Guilty

Handing down the sentence, Justice Peter Dutney, told Previte he had killed 19-year-old Caroline in the "most dreadful way", throwing her off a bridge for a "few miserable dollars".

Caroline, from Huntington, was robbed and thrown from the 30ft road bridge in Bundaberg, Queensland, after phoning her boyfriend from a call box.

She died instantly with a fractured skull and severed spine as she hit the ground below. Drifter Previte pleaded not guilty to both charges, but the jury of seven men and four women heard evidence during the trial that he boasted of the killing in conversations that were recorded secretly.

Previte, who smoked marijuana and had taken a cocktail of drugs before the murder, also received ten years, to run concurrently, for the robbery.

The jury took seven hours to convict him.

Caroline had been enjoying a backpacking trip in Australia with her best friend, Sarah Holliday, before starting a psychology course at Manchester University.

Her family today reacted with relief at the verdict

Her father,. Alan, who accompanied his son, Richard, at the trial, said: "It's a great relief for all the family, it draws a line under this awful situation.

"I think it is important now we all move forward with great confidence and know this isn't hanging over our heads.

"It has been two-and-a-half years of a great deal of pain and anguish."

Caroline's mother, Marjorie Marks-Stuttle, who stayed in the UK after being unable to face the trial, said her grief for Caroline would remain forever.

"My son's out in Australia so he's had to live every day in court. My heart goes out to him. I wish I was there to give him a hug.

"It's good news ... but the grief will never go away."

Following the murder, Marjorie was inspired to set up Caroline's Rainbow Foundation, a charity which raises awareness of the importance of personal safety when backpacking.

Caroline's brother, Richard, who endured every day of the trial at the court in Bundaberg, said: "It's a great relief that we can now lay this to rest. It's been a very long two-and-a-half years, but an almost impossible three weeks."

During the trial, the prosecution said Previte had deliberately thrown Caroline to her death so he could snatch her handbag.

As well as a taped prison confession, Previte admitted killing Caroline in a recorded police interview.

He described how she fought to hold on to her handbag after he grabbed it when he saw her on the bridge.

He said he "flung" her around as she struggled and during the struggle she went over the side of the railing.

Justice Dutney told Previte: "Miss Stuttle should have been enjoying the holiday of a lifetime.

"Instead, your act of throwing her off a bridge in the dark in a strange country for a miserable few dollars ... killed her in the most dreadful way."

Meanwhile, Marjorie has also urged other parents not to be put off from allowing their children to travel abroad.

"Caroline was very sensible. It was just the wrong place at the wrong time.

"We want youngsters to still follow their dreams and not be put off by what happened to Caroline, but just to be aware of the situation and do their research on safety issues before they go."

Updated: 12:00 Friday, October 15, 2004