The family of a murdered St Albans man whose body has never been found are making a final plea for information regarding the whereabouts of their son.

Murray Thompson, 34, of St Peters Street, St Albans, was last seen on April 20, 2010, at a house in St Albans Road, Watford.

James Evans, of Bushey Mill Lane in Watford, was found guilty of murder today.

The 11 jurors also found the 24-year-old guilty of perverting the course of justice, preventing a lawful burial and conspiracy to produce cannabis.

Lee Sullivan, 48, and Amit Agar, 32, have also been charged with perverting the course of justice, conspiracy to produce cannabis and intimidation of witnesses in connection with the case.

However, during the trials, none of the convicted men gave any details about the whereabouts of his body.

Following today’s trial Murray’s father Tony Thompson said: "This has been a long ordeal, with two trials, combined to over 14 weeks of court.

"I’m naturally pleased with the verdict.

"I hope now we can start moving on with our lives - however, Murray is still daily in our thoughts.

"Until we put him to rest, it’ll always be nagging in our minds about where he is."

The family have previously offered a £5,000 reward for information but no one has come forward.

Mr Thompson added: "I would like to thank DI Kent and his team for their hard work and persistence over the past two and a half years, and QC Price and his assistant Sandra Beck for being so supportive throughout the trial.

"I’d also like to thank my friends for their daily phone calls and support at court."

Detective Inspector Jerome Kent, who is leading the investigation, said: "Throughout our investigation we’ve learnt a lot about Murray, who despite being involved in drugs, was a kind man who was loyal to his family and had a large group of friends.

"I would thank the family and friends of Murray who gave considerable support to police during the investigation.

"Lee Sullivan, James Evans and Amit Agar clearly set about ‘covering up’ Murray’s death and the cannabis operation, by a sustained campaign of intimidating people who they believed were feeding information to police.

"I am pleased the jury have come to these guilty verdicts. It has been an incredibly challenging case, particularly because Murray’s body has never been found.

"For Murray’s parents the anguish they have faced since Murray went missing is unimaginable.

"Their bravery and strength is admirable. However, I know that finding Murray means more to them than the verdict today. They desperately want to put Murray to rest and say goodbye properly.

"I believe that James Evans, Lee Sullivan and Amit Agar know where Murray is but they have always refused to give any assistance to the police and actively engaged in disrupting the police enquiry."

Anyone with information is asked to contact Hertfordshire Constabulary on the non-emergency number 101 or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 500 100.