Grandmother murder evidence ‘compelling’, prosecutors say

A junk mail delivery man was found guilty of the brutal murder of a Queensland grandmother on “compelling” evidence.

Liselotte Watson was murdered in her home.

A junk-mail delivery man was found guilty of the brutal murder of a Queensland grandmother on “compelling” evidence, prosecutors say.

Steven Fennell has been granted leave to appeal to the High Court over his conviction for the 2012 murder of 85-year-old Liselotte Watson on Macleay Island in Moreton Bay.

Prosecutors have lodged submissions on why the guilty verdict should stand, saying Queensland’s Court of Appeal “identified the salient evidence and assessed it appropriately” when earlier ­rejecting his appeal.

“There were compelling circumstances that pointed, beyond reasonable doubt, to the guilt of (Fennell), and the jury’s verdict was justified on the evidence ­before it,” the submissions state.

Fennell had a long history of fraud, was once jailed for savagely bashing a woman during sex and was previously suspected of burning down his own home. A jury was unaware of this past when finding he bludgeoned Watson to death in her home.

He is suspected to have been stealing from Watson to fund a gambling habit before the murder, visiting her almost daily in the guise of helping her with shopping, chores and banking.

Submissions prepared by ­Director of Public Prosecutions Michael Byrne QC and crown prosecutor Clayton Wallis call for the High Court appeal to be dismissed, or alternatively for the case to be sent back to the Court of Appeal for rehearing. They point to the fundamental importance of the jury, the respect an appeal court should have for a jury’s verdict and the regard for a jury’s ­advantages in assessing evidence.

These were pressed home by the High Court in 2016 when it restored Gerard Baden-Clay’s conviction for murdering his wife, Allison, after the Queensland Court of Appeal earlier downgraded it to manslaughter, the submissions say.

On November 12, 2012, the day Watson is believed to have been murdered, a person using the name “Steven” used a computer at Fennell’s home to access an internet article titled, “Weird places people hide money around the home”. He had no one to corroborate his movements for parts of the day, and there were various purported sightings of Fennell or his vehicle at Watson’s home.

Watson’s toiletries bag, containing her banking documents, and her TransLink wallet and purse were found near a hammer in a mangroves and tidal area.

An island resident gave evidence he had lent the distinctive hammer to Fennell and it hadn’t been returned. Watson’s injuries were consistent with being ­attacked with a hammer.

Fennell says the Court of ­Appeal erred in failing to properly consider issues around the hammer’s identification. Fennell was now presenting arguments that were not “fully articulated” to the Court of Appeal, using an interstate authority that was not placed before the court, prosecutors say.

Fennell had been visiting Watson for a year and knew her habits, and no other person who could ­remotely be considered a suspect had anywhere near the same ­access or familiarity.

Despite daily visits, only one fingerprint of Fennell was found in the house. This indicated the killer had time to clean up, with gaps in Fennell’s alibi consistent with his guilt.