Carly McBride murder: James Anthony Cunneen granted bail as new trial ordered over allegations of accessory after the fact to murder

The man who had his conviction quashed for allegedly helping a friend dispose of his new girlfriend’s body has been granted his release on bail as a new trial is ordered.

The body of Carly McBride, 31, was found in a shallow grave off a remote road at Owen’s Gap near Scone in 2016, two years after she was murdered.

The man who had his conviction quashed and a new trial ordered for allegedly helping convicted killer Sayle Newson dispose of Carly McBride’s body has walked free on bail.

Lawyers acting for James Anthony Cunneen, 32, made a release application in Downing Centre District Court on Wednesday – a week after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal threw out his conviction for being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Ms McBride in 2014.

Prosecutors did not oppose the application and Cunneen was expected to walk from Shortland Correctional Centre at Cessnock jail before his matter is mentioned again on April 15 for arraignment as lawyers begin the process of seeking a new trial date.

Cunneen was granted bail with a list of nine conditions, including that he report to Muswellbrook police station four times a week, he not contact any prosecution witnesses and submit to random drug testing if required.

Cunneen had made an all-grounds appeal after being convicted of helping Newson dispose of Ms Bride’s body and then assisting him in trying to cover up the murder and had been sentenced to a maximum seven-and-a-half years jail in 2022, backdated so his minimum four-year non-parole period would end in 2026.

James Cunneen will walk free on bail after his conviction for being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Carly McBride was quashed. A new trial has been ordered. Source: Facebook

But the unanimous decision in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, brought down on March 13, was to quash that conviction and order a new trial.

The full decision, giving reasons for the retrial, has not been published.

Sayle Newson was sentenced to a maximum 27 years’ jail for the murder of his new girlfriend Carly McBride.

Ms Bride was murdered by Newson in 2014 after she had travelled with him from Newcastle to Muswellbrook in 2014.

She was last seen walking down a road after visiting her ex-partner’s house and her body was found in 2016 wearing the same clothes she had worn when she was last seen.

Newson, a martial arts exponent, was found to have savagely bashed his new girlfriend in a fit of jealous rage before dumping her body in a shallow grave at Owen’s Gap, near Scone.

Her remains were not discovered until 2016.

Detectives at the site where Carly McBride's remains were discovered near Scone.

Newson was later charged and convicted of her murder before being sentenced to a maximum 27 years in jail.

He unsuccessfully appealed the conviction in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal and his lawyers have indicated they may take the matter to the High Court of Australia.