'Five years we've waited for justice'

'It’s a sad day for everybody, there’s no winners in this. We lost our mum and now we’ve lost our dad'

JOSHUA Edwards struggled to describe what it felt like when his father was convicted of murdering his mother in 2015.

"It's a hollow feeling," he said.

Joshua and his family have waited five years for an answer to the question that haunted them:What happened to Sharon Edwards the night she disappeared?

Yesterday, a Coffs Harbour Supreme Court jury found the Coutts Crossing Public School teacher's estranged husband guilty of her murder.

Sharon Edwards murder trial

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John Wallace Edwards, 62, has maintained his innocence since being charged in 2017.

"It's a sad day for everybody, there's no winners in this. We lost our mum and now we've lost our dad."

Joshua Edwards spoke outside Coffs Harbour courthouse after the verdict was heard, overwhelmed with emotion.

"It was a relief, it's an unusual feeling," he said. "I'm just relieved for mum. We got justice today."

John Wallace Edwards (red shirt) with his sons Joshua, Zac and Eli when the family appealed to the community for information on Sharon Edwards' disappearance in April 2015. . Picture: Leigh Jensen

His two brothers, Zac and Eli, were unable to be in court but were on the phone immediately afterwards to hear the news.

Joshua Edwards said after five years of waiting it was time for the family to begin moving forward with their lives. 

"We've still got sentencing … we've got to pick up the pieces and move on," he said.   

He thanked the Crown prosecutor and said Detective Senior Constable Douglas Scott had been a "tower of strength" throughout the distressing and extensive process.   

"Nearly five years we've waited for justice," he said.   

Joshua hoped his father would confess where his mother's body had been hidden.   

"Let's hope he does the right thing and we can get some closure on that front."   

Edwards will face a sentence hearing in Coffs Harbour on December 16. 

Originally published as 'Five years we've waited for justice'