Further DNA tests for hammer as murderer pursues appeal

The hammer at the centre of a murder case against Gold Coast man Andrew John Cobby will undergo further forensic testing as he seeks to appeal his life sentence.

A 2022 inquiry found Queensland’s forensic lab failed to properly test samples for years and Cobby is hoping new evidence will strengthen the case to overturn his guilty finding.

Andrew Cobby was arrested the day after his wife was murdered in 2017.Credit: Nine News

He was convicted in 2021 of murdering his estranged wife Gaylene Cobby, known as Kym, after a jury found him guilty of bashing her with a hammer and strangling her to death in 2017.

Cobby admitted to being present at the time of the attack but claimed the killer was an unknown assailant. He has always maintained his innocence.

In a review in the Queensland Court of Appeal on Thursday, the hammer was ordered to be returned to a representative of the Crown to undergo further forensic testing.

The findings will likely affect how Cobby proceeds with his case for an appeal, Court of Appeal President Debra Mullins said.

One of Cobby’s grounds of appeal relates to purported fresh evidence provided by Queensland forensic services in a report from December last year, she said.

Mullins added it was helpful Cobby had given notice of his likely grounds of appeal and she expected he might amend them once he had more information.

Results from the hammer’s retesting are expected in early May.

The fresh forensic examination follows a four-month inquiry into the state’s embattled DNA testing system that found failings as a result of “grave maladministration involving dishonesty”.

Cobby is representing himself in the case and appeared via video link dressed in prison greens.

He asked to appear in person when his push for a review was heard in full, which is expected to take place in the second half of the year.

AAP