Court of Criminal Appeal to announce whether it will tear up Danny Deacon’s murder conviction
THE Territory’s highest court will on Friday announce whether ’pure evil’ murderer Danny Deacon will have his conviction torn up on appeal.
Crime and Court
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THE Territory’s highest court will on Friday announce whether “pure evil” murderer Danny Deacon will have his conviction torn up on appeal.
A jury in September 2016 found Deacon guilty of the 2013 murder of his partner, Carlie Sinclair.
Deacon, now 48, buried her body in a pre-dug bush grave down a dirt track off Mulgara Rd, Berry Springs and within days fronted a missing persons campaign asking for information about her whereabouts.
As NT Police ramped up their investigation, Deacon moved to Western Australia.
A crack squad of undercover police then targeted Deacon, coaxed him into repeated confessions and had him lead them to Ms Sinclair’s body.
Following his conviction, Ms Sinclair’s mother, Marlene Sinclair, branded his daughter’s killer “pure evil”.
A panel of three Supreme Court judges — Chief Justice Michael Grant, Justice Stephen Southwood, and Justice Trevor Riley — have taken more than two years to determine the appeal, a delay which earlier this year prompted Deacon to threaten a hunger strike in jail.
A court spokesman on Thursday would not confirm the decision would be handed down on Friday, and the daily court list had not been published as the NT News went to print, but sources said lawyers have been told the decision will be handed down on Friday morning.
The precise details of the police sting which ensnared Deacon are suppressed, but his legal team — Jon Tippett QC and Peter Maley — argued it amounted to “oppressive conduct”, and should never have been shown to Deacon’s jury.
At trial, they argued Deacon was “provoked” into killing Ms Sinclair and that he was guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter, but not guilty of murder.
Prosecutors also appealed the 21 year and six month non-parole period Justice Peter Barr imposed on Deacon, saying it was “manifestly inadequate”.
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Deacon’s appeal crosses uncharted legal waters, and regardless of the outcome is likely to be appealed to the High Court, lawyers say.
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