Life for police killer

Two people involved in the shooting death of Gold Coast Dective Damian Leeding have been sentenced.

One was the gunman's co-accused Donna McAvoy. She helped commit the armed robbery at a Gold Coast tavern in May 2011 and watch as the detective was shot in the head. The other was the getaway driver, Benjamin Power.

The judge sentenced Donna McAvoy to life in jail, with a minimum non-parole period of 15 years, for murdering the detective.

Getaway driver Benjamin Power received a 9 year jail term. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter last year. But because he's a serious violent offender, he'll have to serve at least 80 percent of his sentence.

The court heard, mother-of-four Donna Lee McAvoy, committed this armed robbery to get her child back from state care.

Her lawyer said government officials told her the only way she had any chance of getting her child back was if she “had money in the bank”.

In a victim impact statement, the Detective's sister Hayley Sinton told the pair her grief had turned to anger since the killers' trial last September.

She said to them: she vowed to do whatever she could to make sure the pair stayed locked up forever.

She said,"You will be in jail. I hope it's as lonely and as miserable as that plainly sounds."

The Gunman, Phillip Abell, was sentenced last year for murder.

He was given life imprisonment with non parole period of 20 years.