Gerard Baden-Clay: High Court to hear appeal against murder downgrade

The High Court will hear an appeal against the downgraded murder conviction of wife-killer Gerard Baden-Clay.

Gerard Baden-Clay’s murder conviction was downgraded to manslaughter in December.

The full bench of the High Court will hear Queensland prosecutors’ appeal of wife-killer Gerard Baden-Clay’s downgraded murder conviction.

The court this morning accepted the state’s Director of Public Prosecution’s application for special leave to appeal against the Baden-Clay case, after the Queensland Court of Appeal downgraded his conviction to manslaughter last year.

It replaced the conviction after finding an accidental killing during an altercation could not be ruled out.

A jury in 2014 found Baden-Clay guilty of murdering his wife, Allison, in 2012 and dumping her body in Brisbane’s western suburbs.

The High Court today granted the Queensland Director of Public Prosecutions special leave to appeal the decision.

It will see the nation’s highest court examine the challenge at a hearing on a date to be fixed, expected to be within three months.

A spokesman for the High Court says it’s likely the matter will be listed for hearing by Tuesday.

Allison’s cousin, Jodie Dann, was in the High Court in Canberra and wept after the decision was announced.

Allison’s parents, Priscilla and Geoffrey Dickie, were not present but released a short statement to the media.

“The family will not be commenting on the matters before the High Court today. We appreciate your continued respect for our privacy,” the statement read.

Allison’s body was found on the bank of a creek in Brisbane’s west 10 days after her husband, a real estate agent, reported the mother-of-three missing from their Brookfield home.

His Supreme Court trial heard how Allison had found out he was having an affair and he had also been under heavy financial pressure before her death.

Additional reporting: AAP