Silk-Miller killer Jason Roberts to find out if he can appeal conviction
Convicted killer Jason Roberts has always claimed his innocence over the 1998 murders of officers Gary Silk and Rodney Miller. Now he is set to get a hearing to determine if he can appeal his conviction.
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Jailed police killer Jason Roberts will know whether he can challenge his convictions over the Silk-Miller murders early next year.
A directions hearing before three Supreme Court justices on Friday has set down a five-day hearing beginning February 10 to determine whether to grant Roberts leave to appeal his convictions over the murders of Sergeant Gary Silk and Senior Constable Rodney Miller on August 16, 1998.
If the Appeal Court is satisfied there is “fresh and compelling’’ evidence in the interests of justice, Roberts will be given an appeal opportunity.
Roberts, who was in court for Friday’s hearing, is serving a life sentence over the police shootings, as is his co-accused Bandali Debs.
Debs was subsequently convicted of the murders of two women, which occurred before the Silk-Miller ambush killings.
The key areas under scrutiny in the case are the integrity of police statements, allegations that police officers committed perjury and also the accuracy of the police transcripts of conversations picked up on listening devices.
The Roberts case was revived after the Herald Sun uncovered a falsified statement, made by police before the trial.
Its unearthing resulted in the Andrews Government returning the case to court after reviewing Roberts’ petition for mercy, paving the way for a potential retrial.
The decision to approve Roberts’ bid, made by Attorney-General Martin Pakula, overturned his original denial.
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Roberts, who has always professed his innocence, was found guilty with co-accused Bandali Debs of the shooting murders of Sgt Gary Silk and Sen Constable Rodney Miller, who were working undercover on a stake-out of the Silky Emperor restaurant during an operation to find a pair of armed robbers when they were ambushed after intercepting a Hyundai Excel in Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin.
The Silk-Miller murder investigation — code-named Lorimer —spent two years investigating the murders before arresting and charging Bandali Debs and Roberts in 2000.
A Herald Sun investigation also forced anti-corruption body IBAC to launch a probe into police conduct in the Lorimer task force.