Dean Stewart Cameron guilty of murdering Marie Davis

Dean Stewart Cameron began a life sentence this afternoon for the rape and murder of teenage schoolgirl Marie Davis, as the Crown announced it will seek preventive detention because of a earlier rape conviction.

Justice Lester Chisholm sentenced the 39-year-old road worker to life after the jury returned guilty verdicts in the High Court at Christchurch.

But crown prosecutor Chris Lange asked for the open-ended preventive detention sentence to be considered, and Justice Chisholm remanded Cameron to August 24 for the necessary reports to be prepared.

Cameron was jailed for four years for rape after pleading guilty at a retrial in 2004. The verdict had been annulled after the first trial.

Trial Judge Stephen Erber said at the time that Cameron had unnecessarily put his victim through the ordeal of giving her evidence a second time at the second trial, before changing his plea.

Cameron denied raping and murdering the Papanui 15-year-old Marie Davis, but did not give evidence in his defence.

His defence team raised the possibility that the girl had gone to an early morning sexual encounter on the banks of the Waimakariri but later fell or jumped into the river where her naked body was discovered 11 days later.

The crown's scientific evidence showed Cameron's blood was in the house where Marie disappeared, and his DNA was in semen found on her body.

"He didn't have a defence," the family of the dead girl said outside the High Court after the verdicts.

Her mother, Janet Davis, said: "She was a beautiful daughter and we loved her so much. She was so precious to all of us."

She was relieved that the right verdicts had been reached and at least Cameron was getting the sentence he deserved.

But "it will never bring Marie back", she said.

Ms Davis said the defence had been "clutching at straws the whole way through" the trial.

She said the family thanked the police "who have been wonderful throughout this whole thing".

The jurors began their deliberations this morning, after Justice Chisholm completed his summing up late yesterday afternoon.

They returned to court to watch the re-showing of a video of the recovery of bedding from the River Waimakariri.

The crown said Marie's body had been wrapped in it when it was put into the water.

They jurors also listened again to a secretly recorded conversation between Cameron and a friend.

They signalled about 3.30pm that they were ready to deliver their verdicts delivered to a full courtroom.

There were cries of "Yes", and applause as the verdicts were read out by the jury foreperson, and members of the Davis family burst into tears.

Cameron remained impassive as he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

- NZPA