TEN years ago this week, the killer of teenager Jenny Nicholl was convicted of her murder and jailed for life with a minimum sentence of 18 years.

Married father-of-two David Hodgson, 48, was found guilty after a trial at Teesside Crown Court lasting more than five weeks.

Her mother and father, Ann and Brian, stood side-by-side outside the court as they called for Hodgson, an unemployed landscape gardener, to finally confess so they could give her a proper funeral.

Mr Nicholl said: "It remains our deepest wish that, as parents, we be afforded our basic human right to bury Jenny with the dignity and respect she so rightly deserves. While this verdict is a step forward, we will never stop searching for Jenny's body, and David Hodgson should now accept that he alone is responsible and inform the police where she is."

Shopworker Jenny, 19, went missing after leaving her family home, in Richmond, North Yorkshire, on June 30, 2005, after telling her mother she was staying out for the night.

The teenager's sudden disappearance was treated as a missing person inquiry for months before detectives suspected Hodgson was lying about his relationship with her.

Hodgson was originally arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice, but was later charged with murder after more evidence was found.