Ashley Feetham appeals conviction for murdering Dylan Bond

A Geelong man found guilty of murder after stabbing two brothers amid a messy love triangle has launched an appeal against his conviction.

A convicted killer has launched a bid to overturn a conviction, after he was found guilty of stabbing two brothers amid a deadly love feud.

Ashley Feetham, 26, appeared in the Court of Appeal on Tuesday, having been found guilty by a Supreme Court jury in October 2023 of murdering Dylan Bond and intentionally seriously injuring his brother Heath Bond in a Thomson home on April 26, 2021.

The brothers had gone to the home where Feetham was staying to confront him over his relationship with Heath’s ex-fiancee, Abbey Sexton.

During the altercation, both brothers were stabbed, Dylan fatally.

Feetham was sentenced on the basis that after the two men arrived at the premises, he took possession of the knife and used it with the intent of causing serious injury, and was not acting in lawful self defence.

Feetham was jailed for a maximum of 22 years following the verdict and must serve a minimum of 16.

Ashley Feetham, 25, found guilty of murdering Dylan Bond is appealing his sentence.

At Tuesday’s hearing, before Court of Appeal judges Karin Emerton, Christopher Boyce and Rowena Orr, Feetham’s lawyer Christopher Carr KC made lengthy submissions laying out a number of grounds for appeal

Mr Carr said the credibility of Heath Bond’s testimony about what transpired leading up to, and during, the altercations, was “not merely unreliable” but contained lies, in particular about he and his brother’s motivations and who first grabbed the knife.

“(The lies) go directly to the critical issue … of who was the aggressor,” Mr Carr said.

Mr Carr said: “acting reasonably, the jury could not but draw the inference that (the brothers) had a meeting of minds and that they would deal out a most violent retribution to Ashley Feetham”.

Facebook photos of Geelong man Dylan Bond who was murdered by Ashley Feetham.

“The obvious reason for the telling of these lies is to distance himself and his brother from their aggressive intentions when they entered the house and to render it less plausible that Dylan would have grabbed the knife,” Mr Carr said.

It was also argued that the direction given to the jury by the trial judge was inadequate and not compliant with Section 63 of the Jury Directions Act, which outlines how a trial judge must explain the concept of “proof beyond reasonable doubt”.

Mr Carr also submitted the prosecution case provided no explanation as to how Feetham sustained injuries to his hand and Dylan Bond to his left hip and torso.

Crown prosecutor David Glynn disputed the defence’s grounds for appeal, arguing that criticism of Heath Bond’s evidence had already been “argued very strongly” by Feetham’s counsel at trial.

Mr Glynn told the court the brothers had not gone to the house armed, and whatever their motivation, the evidence showed Feetham was “spoiling for a fight”.

Mr Glynn suggested that Feetham, knowing the brothers were coming, may have lay in wait and “ambushed” them.

The court heard Feetham had been egging on and taunting Dylan Bond, to the point where he sent a video showing exactly where he was.

“He is saying come here, I am here, come here,” Mr Glynn said.

The Justices reserved their decision and adjourned the matter to a later date.

Originally published as Ashley Feetham appeals conviction for murdering Dylan Bond