Bob and Sally Dowler, the parents of Milly, issued a statement after the conviction of Levi Bellfield.

It reads: “Six years ago our beautiful daughter Milly was callously murdered and still no one has been brought to justice. How can we find peace? How can we ever understand who could commit such an evil act and why? Imagine not knowing how your daughter died, or where or when and by whose hand, and imagine how we as a family live. If you know anything that could help answer these questions, please find it in your heart to let us know.

“Not a day passes when we don’t think of her. Our lives have been in turmoil ever since and the effects on our family and friends have been devastating. Some days, even the smallest of tasks seem insurmountable. The pain never goes away, even though we have learnt to live alongside it. We feel as if our lives have been destroyed and all we can do is try not to let the pain and anger overwhelm us. There are times when we don’t succeed.

“The past six years have been indescribable. In 2006 Milly would have been 18. All her birthdays are anguish for us but this was particularly hard to bear and made us think what could have been. As all her friends go off to university and carry on with their lives we wonder about what she might have studied, the boyfriends she might have had, the places she might have lived, the day-to-day trivia we would have shared and above all how her many dreams and aspirations may have unfolded. Sadly we will never know.

“Thankfully during her short life we had wonderful times and we treasure our many happy memories. Our lovely Milly was a beautiful, vivacious, kind natured 13-year-old. She was popular and bubbly with a great sense of humour. She was bright and musical. She always had a little twinkle in her eye. Milly was a loved and loving daughter and sister.

“She had every right to expect a happy, rich life ahead of her. As parents, how could we imagine anything else? We are pleading for anyone who knows anything to have the courage to speak up. Nothing will ever bring Milly back, but even six years on you can still help to start easing our pain by letting us know, finally, what happened on our daughter’s final days."

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