With joy on their faces, the family of Caroline Byrne walked out of the NSW Supreme Court, relieved their 13-year wait for justice was over.
In a unanimous decision, a jury found former chauffeur Gordon Wood guilty of murdering his 24-year-old girlfriend by throwing her off a Sydney cliff on the night of June 7, 1995.
For her father, Tony Byrne, it was a bittersweet moment.
"I'll never forget the foreman, when he said 'guilty'. It was wonderful to be there," he told reporters.
Flanked by his sons Peter and Robert, and daughter Deanna, Mr Byrne said he felt both a "sense of sadness" and "enormous relief" that his long-held belief had been vindicated by Wood's conviction.
In contrast to his sad and troubled appearance during the often sensational three month trial, the 72-year-old beamed as he said: "The comfort that has come from this verdict is difficult to describe, it's a wonderful feeling."
"Justice is a strange word, until you have sought it you can never understand what it means and why it is so important."
Wood stared straight ahead as the verdict was delivered, taking a swift sip from his polystyrene cup of water.
However, his composure seemed to slip as he surrendered his wallet and ring and was led down to the cells, avoiding eye contact with his family.
Only a dozen people were present in the public gallery for the verdict, while Wood's mother, Brenda, and his sisters, Michelle and Jacqueline, arrived minutes later.
After learning the outcome, the older woman wiped away tears.
Mr Byrne and Deanna also cried but theirs were "tears of joy".
Wood's barrister, Winston Terracini SC, said his client would lodge an appeal against his conviction and was "disappointed obviously".
"He is maintaining his innocence. We will appeal against the unreasonable verdict," he said.
"A lot of the media would be very pleased because of the role they have played in securing it (the verdict)."
Mr Terracini said Wood was "dealing with it very well because he knows he is innocent".
During the trial, Mr Terracini told the jury Ms Byrne's mother had killed herself in 1991, and that Caroline herself was in a "high risk" category for suicide, having taken an overdose in 1993.
Days before her death, she had seen a doctor who referred her to a psychiatrist, describing Ms Byrne as being "very, very depressed".
But Mark Tedeschi QC, for the crown, said Wood killed his girlfriend because she wanted to end their relationship and he feared she would reveal personal and business details about his boss, stockbroker Rene Rivkin.
Mr Byrne paid tribute to the detectives attached to Strike Force Irondale, headed by Detective Inspector Paul Jacob, for their "persistence, their dedication and professionalism".
"They have shown me an extraordinary level of kindness and I cannot speak highly enough of them."
He later shouted them a beer at the nearby Courthouse Hotel.
Det Insp Jacob said his team was "enormously satisfied" the Byrne family could now move into a new phase of healing.
Byrne family friend and Caroline's one-time boss, deportment queen June Dally-Watkins, said she was still in shock at the verdict.
"We all knew Caroline could never, never have taken her own life," she told reporters.
Asked if it had been difficult to give evidence at the trial, she said: "Every bit of it has been incredibly emotional."
Justice Graham Barr thanked the jury of seven women and five men and adjourned Wood's sentencing hearing until November 27.