Frankie Marshall acquitted of murder of lesbian lover despite motive

FRANCIS "Frankie" Marshall cleared of murdering her lover, even though a court considers she had a motive to kill.

A SOUTH Australian woman has been cleared of the murder of her long-time lesbian lover, even though a court considers she had a motive to kill.

Francis "Frankie" Marshall, 63, wept as family and supporters hugged her in the Supreme Court this morning.

Minutes before, several of them had stood up and applauded Justice Margaret Nyland's ruling that she could not find Ms Marshall guilty, beyond reasonable doubt, of the murder of Bernadette Liston.

Ms Marshall had little to say outside court.

"I feel great," she said as she pushed through media towards a taxi.

"I've got no further comment."

During a three-week trial, prosecutors claimed Ms Marshall bashed, shot and stabbed Ms Liston before slitting her throat in their Victor Harbor home, south of Adelaide, in October 2002.

They claimed she was angry about Ms Liston's plan to leave her for Ms Marshall's brother, Daryl Purcell.

Mr Purcell told the court he and Ms Liston had been carrying on an affair for several years.

He and Ms Liston were the biological father of Rebekah, a girl raised by her mother and Ms Marshall.

The prosecution's circumstantial case centred on claims Ms Marshall was the owner of Ugg boots that matched bloody footprints found at the crime scene.

Today, Justice Nyland said she had considered "the whole of the evidence" and "the combined strength of the established facts" in reaching her verdict.

"I'm satisfied that the accused had a motive, and find that there are a number of suspicious circumstances which implicate the accused as the killer of Bernadette Liston," she said.

"But motive, by itself, is insufficient to find the accused guilty, (and) suspicion piled upon suspicion does not equate to proof beyond reasonable doubt."

Justice Nyland said the passage of time had affected the evidence of several witnesses on the "important topic" of the Ugg boots.

She was also "unable to exclude" robbery as an explanation for the incident.

"In those circumstances, I am unable to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the accused is the person who killed Bernadette Liston," she said.

"I am obliged to return a verdict of not guilty."

Ms Liston's family did not comment outside court.