When Julene and the boys returned they were summoned to the lounge room, where they asked if Tiahleigh was feeling better.
She said Thorburn explained: "It's all taken care of."
Julene said she asked: "What do you mean by that?"
She said Thorburn replied: "Don't ask any questions, you don't need to know. I have taken care of it. We do things like we normally do."
Julene said she walked past Tiahleigh's bedroom door, which was closed, but when she moved to go into the room she was stopped by her husband.
She said Thorburn told her: "Don't go in there. I told you it is sorted. Go to bed — tomorrow will be a normal day."
Julene said she woke the next morning and went straight to Tiahleigh's bedroom, which was empty and messy.
She said her husband was at the gym with their son Josh and she knew it was her chance to alert police, but she did nothing.
"At this point I was really worried and concerned and assumed the worst — that Rick had killed Tiah," she told police officers in her statement.
The couple ran a daycare centre from their house and children were due to arrive at 8:00am.
Thorburn left before anyone arrived so he would not be seen leaving for the school drop-off without Tiahleigh.
Hours later, a youth worker called to tell the Thorburns that Tiahleigh had not shown up for a meeting.
Julene told police: "I felt horrified. I felt like I was acting out a part that I didn't want to play."
Killer's wife knew Tiahleigh Palmer's body was being dumped, but kept family's secret
