Gold Coast man who killed mother gets four years in jail
A Gold Coast man who confessed to the manslaughter of his mother nine years after she disappeared has been jailed for at least four years and nine months.
Daniel Paul Heazlewood was initially charged with murder over the June 2009 death of his mother Linda Sidon but last week pleaded guilty to the downgraded charge of manslaughter at Brisbane Supreme Court.
On Monday, he was sentenced to a maximum eight years behind bars for her manslaughter and a total of 11 years and six months for that and other charges, including five drug offences.
After being arrested in 2015, Heazlewood helped police search for his mother's body in Gold Coast bushland, but it has never been found.
Police said at the time the two-day search was hampered by the length of time since her disappearance.
Ms Sidon, a New Zealand-born part-time cleaner who had a history of anxiety, anorexia and depression, was initially thought to have taken her own life.
Her father reported her missing almost 18 months after she was last seen in June 2009.
In 2015, police were given information that heightened their suspicion she had been murdered and Heazlewood was later charged, aged 28 at the time.
With time served in custody, Heazlewood will first be eligible for parole in July 2019.
AAP