James Anthony Cunneen to face a new trial after NSW Court of Criminal Appeal quashes conviction over Carly McBride murder

A man found guilty of helping dump the body of murder victim Carly McBride before helping her killer try to evade justice has had his conviction quashed and a new trial ordered. Read why here.

James Anthony Cunneen will face a new trial after his conviction for being an accessory after the fact to the murder of Carly McBride was quashed in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday. .

The state’s highest court has ordered the retrial of a man accused of helping convicted murderer Sayle Newson dispose of Carly McBride’s body in bushland next to a lonely Upper Hunter road before assisting him to attempt to continue to evade justice.

James Anthony Cunneen, 32, had made an all-grounds appeal after being convicted of being an accessory after the fact to murder and sentenced to a maximum seven-and-a-half years jail.

And in a decision handed down in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday, Justice Desmond Fagan ordered that Cunneen’s conviction be quashed and a new trial ordered.

It is understood Cunneen’s legal team are now preparing to apply for him to be released on bail.

The decision, which was agreed to by Justice Julie Ward and Justice David Davies, came a week after Newson failed in his own appeal after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed it in a majority decision.

Carly McBride, 31, was murdered by new boyfriend Sayle Newson in 2014 before her body was dumped at Owens Gap, outside of Scone.Picture: Facebook.

Newson, a competent martial arts exponent, murdered his new girlfriend in a fit of jealous rage after driving her to Muswellbrook in 2014.

Her body was dumped at Owens Gap, outside Scone before Newson reported her missing to police.

The remains were not found until 2016.

Decisions on both judgments are now expected to be published.

More to come