It took 30 years for justice to be delivered to the Cardy family after the murder of their nine-year-old daughter. A serial child killer and paedophile was sentenced to life after being convicted of murdering a fourth girl on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The jury of nine women and three men in the town of Armagh found Robert Black guilty of murdering Jennifer Cardy. On Aug. 12, 1981, riding her red bicycle two weeks before her 10th birthday, Jennifer was snatched by Black, originally from Stirling in Scotland, near her home in the village of Ballinderry, in County Antrim. Cardy's body was discovered six days later at McKee's dam 15 miles away at Hillsborough.

Though Black denied he was guilty, he did not defend himself during the trial. Black, 64, is already serving jail time in Northern Ireland after being convicted in 1994 for the murders of three young girls - Susan Maxwell, Caroline Hogg and Sarah Harper. With his previous conviction, Black would not have been considered for release until 2029.

Outside the court, Andy Cardy, flanked by Patricia and children Victoria, Philip and Mark, said the family had prayed for their daughter's killer.

"We have had to endure and listen to how Robert Black kidnapped and sexually abused and murdered our daughter. It has been absolutely horrendous and we heard things that, in all honesty, were not even in our imagination. We pity Robert Black and the awful life he has lived. We prayed for Robert Black before leaving the court," said Mr Cardy, speaking after the verdict at Armagh Crown Court, according to a report in Reuters.

Meanwhile, the police in Britain and Northern Ireland indicated that further murder charges and questioning could be brought against Black for a string of unsolved child murders dating back as far as 1969.

According to reports, Black first tried to rape a girl when he was 12 and later spent a year in juvenile detention for a sexual attack. As a delivery boy in Glasgow, Scotland, Black admitted having molested up to 40 girls. However, Black was caught in 1990 for an attack and linked to the three child murders.