Killer of Gold Coast policeman Damian Leeding gets life sentence Damian Leeding and family. Scenes from CCTV footage taken on the night policeman Damian Leeding was shot and killed after responding to the armed robbery of a tavern on the Gold Coast. THE gunman who murdered Gold Coast detective Damian Leeding will remain in jail until 2031 but that is cold comfort for his grieving family. The police officer's mother wept in court today as the man who shot her son in the head was handed a life sentence, with a minimum of 20 years without parole. Supreme Court Justice James Douglas said Phillip Graeme Abell had shown no remorse for gunning down an officer in the line of duty. He said Abell had a history of violent armed robberies and deserved to spend a long time in jail for taking the detective's life. "Your killing of a brave young police officer acting in the course of his duty has grievously affected his young family, his colleagues and the wider community," Justice Douglas told Abell. Abell shot the 35-year-old detective with a sawn-off shotgun after he and his accomplice Donna Lee McAvoy were disturbed as they held up the Pacific Pines Tavern in May 2011. Snr Const Leeding died in hospital three days later. Abell, 41, showed no emotion when his sentence was handed down but the court was charged with emotion as the Leeding family told of the unbearable pain his crime had caused. In her victim impact statement, Snr Const Leeding's mother Julie Waters said she'd suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety since her son's death, and had isolated herself from the world. His killers' trial had also taken a toll on her. "To see the offenders who took my Damian's life for a paltry sum of money is overwhelming," she said through tears. His sisters also cried when they told the court how their lives had been turned upside down. "I lost my ... best friend that night and no one and nothing will ever replace him," Chantelle Leeding said in her statement. Two Pacific Pines Tavern staff told the court they suffered anxiety and post-traumatic stress following the armed robbery. Sen Const Leeding's wife and two young children were not in court for the sentencing. Queensland Police Minister Jack Dempsey said justice had been served. "My thoughts are with Mr Leeding's family," Mr Dempsey said in a statement. It's good to see justice delivered today.