IT IS impossible to imagine the turbulent emotions that the Thompson family must be feeling today.

On the one hand they must be relieved that the killer of Vikki Thompson has at last been found guilty and sent to prison.

On the other, one can only wonder at the toll the past 15 years must have taken on them as they battled, sometimes seemingly against all odds, to see justice finally done.

In the face of having to relive again and again, year after year, the horror of that awful day, their pain must simply have felt inexhaustible.

Indeed, as Vikki’s husband Jonathan yesterday explained, reacting to the conviction of murderer Mark Weston: “Today marks the end of a chapter and we are pleased with the result but, while Mark Weston will one day be a free man again, we will never be free of the unbearable anguish that he brought to us on that day in 1995 when he killed our darling Vikki.

“So there is no such thing as closure for us.”

However, such is the family’s strength and dignity that Mr Thompson was still able to find the words and emotion to thank those who had helped them over these terrible years, and in particular Thames Valley Police for their dedication and commitment.