Damilola Taylor's parents were said to be in shock after two men were cleared of killing their son.
Damilola's parents Gloria and Richard still hope justice will be done
Solicitor Neil O'May said the trial was a traumatic time for them because they had to hear yet again the details of their son's tragic death.
In 2002, four other youths aged under 18 were cleared of killing the schoolboy in Peckham, south London.
Mr O'May said the family was "deeply distressed and profoundly disappointed" by the outcome of the second trial.
"...Hearing how your son was murdered, in their eyes, once was distressing in the extreme, twice is enormously distressing, and they at the moment are in shock and they'll take some time really to recover from today's events," he said.
Speaking on behalf of Damilola's family outside the Old Bailey after the trial, Mr O'May said: "A beautiful life was taken in a violent and senseless way".
He said Mr and Mrs Taylor had not lost hope their son's killers would one day be caught and were praying those involved will be brought to justice swiftly.
Fight goes on
Harriet Harman, MP for Camberwell and Peckham where Damilola was killed, insisted the search for justice must go on.
"Everybody in the local community will be bitterly disappointed that no-one has yet been brought to justice for killing Damilola Taylor," she said.
She described the Taylors as "very family-orientated people" for whom Damilola's death had been an "absolutely shattering and terrible grief for them".
"But I think that they've been so admirable, the dignity with which they've conducted themselves," she told BBC News.
Bola Ogun, the chair of the board of governors of Oliver Goldsmith School, which Damilola had attended, said their thoughts were with the Taylor family.
"Everybody today will be thinking about the family, and our thoughts are with them as they have to digest this unsatisfactory news that yet again we haven't been able to find out what really happened and to bring people to justice for this horrendous crime."
Met Police Asst Commissioner Tarique Ghaffur said the police were disappointed the jury failed to reach verdicts on the remaining defendants.
"We wish to thank Richard and Gloria Taylor for their continued support through out this long and difficult trial," he said.
He added the police would be consulting the Crown Prosecution Service to consider a retrial.