Jessica Boyce's disappearance is being treated as murder. Photo / Supplied
Jessica Boyce's disappearance is being treated as murder. Photo / Supplied
The family of murder victim Jessica Boyce have made an emotional plea to her killer to end their torment.
As the first anniversary of the day she disappeared approaches, Jessica's cousin Aaron Goodwin has a message for her killer – hand yourself in.
And he is begging for the murderer to reveal where Jessica's body can be found so she can finally be laid to rest.
In an open message to the killer, Aaron says he still hopes that Jessica's killer will do the right thing.
"You have had a year to do the right thing. I still, perhaps naively, hold on to hope that your conscience will get the better of you - that any good values your family may have instilled in you when you were young will win out.
"You will make an attempt at redemption and you will either hand yourself in or at least find a way to communicate to us where we can find and retrieve Jess," he says.
Jessica Boyce was 27 when she was last seen in Renwick on 19 March driving her mum's red Holden Rodeo ute.
The vehicle was discovered at the Lake Chalice car park in the Richmond Ranges on Friday, March 22.
Jessica's disappearance became a homicide investigation in October.
Posting on the Find Jess website last week, Aaron says the killer must be struggling with what they have done.
"How long can you live with yourself knowing what you've done?
Jessica Boyce from Renwick, Marlborough. Photo / Supplied
"Replaying it over and over in your head like a movie, heart skipping a beat and morphing into a full-blown panic attack when the police release another statement or Jess's face reappears in the media," he says.
"Your own life is more-or-less over, the only way to regain your humanity and anything resembling peace of mind back now is to confess and to own your part in Jess's homicide and the subsequent cover up.
"How long can you trust anyone else involved with Jess's disappearance to keep their mouth shut? How do you know they aren't already talking, laying as much of the blame at your feet as possible before you can even formulate a defence?
Described by Aaron as "innocently naïve," Jessica is mourned every day by her distraught family and wide circle of friends.
"Where has the time gone? Weird how it can seem like each day waiting for a development seems to drag on forever, yet it seems like only yesterday we got the news that you were missing," he says.
Robbing her of a future also "struck fear" into the community, says Aaron.
"You have struck fear into the heart of the peaceful Marlborough community. Your community.
"The rumours about the investigation must be driving you insane, and that's only going to get worse. People should not have to worry that killers are walking among them on Marlborough streets.
"Not only have you taken away a person whose light and energy was responsible for so much happiness in the world, you have also forever changed in a negative way the lives of many family members and friends of Jess's".
Jessica's brother George is now living with Aaron. Having him close by is a comfort, he says. He will never give up on finding justice for Jessica, he says.
"The most offensive consequence of your actions is the fact that you have robbed Jess of any future she would have had, here with us, where she belongs.
Friend Theresa Mischeski described Jessica' disappearance as a "nightmare."
"She's one of ours, The cop's have been told so much by so many of us I can't understand why no one is arrested?
