Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal bid adjourned for fortnight

CONVICTED murderer Sue Neill-Fraser’s bid for freedom has hit another roadblock, with all parties frustrated at the pace of the test case.

CONVICTED murderer Sue Neill-Fraser’s bid for freedom has hit another roadblock, with all parties frustrated at the pace of the test case.

But outside court Neill-Fraser’s daughter, Sarah Bowles, said the family would never give up on seeing their mother cleared of killing partner Bob Chappell.

“If the years gone by demonstrate anything we will fight this,” she said.

In her first court appearance for several years, a wheelchair-bound Neill-Fraser, 63, was yesterday brought before a gallery packed with supporters.

They were there to learn if her landmark appeal attempt — the first under new Tasmanian laws — would proceed.

Instead the sometimes tense hearing got bogged down in legal “argy bargy”, as it did six months ago when it was adjourned for the defence to work on its case.

Neill-Fraser is serving 23 years jail for the murder in 2009 of her 65-year-old partner aboard a yacht in the River Derwent.

Since her conviction a group of hardcore supporters have held vigils, offered rewards for information, and continually pressed for her release.

Convicted murderer Sue Neill-Fraser is wheeled from the Supreme Court in Hobart after her case was adjourned for two weeks. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

Their unwillingness to accept a guilty verdict has turned it into the most drawn-out legal case in Tasmania’s recent history.

In what is seen as a last-ditch attempt for freedom — following a failed appeal, High Court bid and inquest — Neill-Fraser is arguing there is “fresh and compelling evidence” to see her conviction quashed or retried.

It is up to Supreme Court judge Shan Tennent to decide whether there is enough merit in the defence’s case for it to proceed to an appeal.

But so far she has agreed with Director of Public Prosecutions, Daryl Coates, that the material presented by the defence is “largely inadmissable and irrelevant”.

As a case in point, she yesterday said a defence affidavit by pro-Neill-Fraser documentary maker Eve Ash was “almost entirely hearsay”, labelling it “singularly unhelpful”.

“This is not a case, with respect, of just throwing in background material,” she said.

A photo of Bob Chappell on his yacht a few days before he disappeared in 2009.

Neill-Fraser’s often combative silk and wrongful-conviction specialist Tom Percy said he saw “no problem” with it.

“We’re happy to defend the admissibility in due course,” he said.

During the hearing, Neill-Fraser looked frustrated, shaking her head several times and mouthing words to daughter Sarah Bowles, who sat in the gallery with sister Emma Mills.

Mr Percy said the defence would call on 12 witnesses, including bloodstain-pattern expert Maxwell Jones.

He will argue the bloodstains found below deck on the couple’s yacht could have predated Mr Chappell’s death.

In sentencing Neill-Fraser, the then-justice Alan Blow relied in part on the blood to find the killer had manoeuvred the victim’s body around the Four Winds after attacking him.

Mr Coates called for some order to the evidence, including a witness list and agreed facts.

“[So far] we’ve seen nothing,” he said.

“This is a serious matter, we can’t be expected to guess.”

Justice Tennent said there was “no doubt” Neill-Fraser and her supporters would have liked to have seen the matter proceed to a hearing.

“We’re not going in the right direction to achieve that,” she said.

Mr Percy raised the issue of whether Justice Tennent, one of three judges who presided over Neill-Fraser’s failed appeal, would continue on in the case.

She said she had not heard from either party since raising matter. Mr Coates said he had no objections. The application was adjourned until November 21 with Justice Tennent telling the parties to come to an agreement on matters that would allow the case to proceed.

Outside court, Ms Bowles said the family did not have “high hopes” for an outcome yesterday, given it was the first case of its kind in Tasmania.

“I think it’s a shame that these sorts of legal argy bargy get in the way,” she said.

“This is not a matter that’s going to go away, we are not going to just be quiet and give up.”

Ms Bowles said her mother was “not doing well physically” and had been in a wheelchair for some time.

Neill-Fraser nodded and smiled to media as she was taken from court to the prison vehicle.

patrick.billings @news.com.au

Originally published as Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal bid adjourned for fortnight