Prominent silk Robert Richter QC announces he will lead Sue Neill-Fraser’s appeal hearing next week
Robert Richter QC, known for representing Cardinal George Pell and underworld figure Mick Gatto, has announced he will lead Sue Neill-Fraser’s highly-anticipated appeal bid next week. LATEST >>
Police & Courts
Don't miss out on the headlines from Police & Courts. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Sue Neill-Fraser pens letter from prison ahead of appeal
- Will Sue Neill-Fraser be granted parole despite refusing to admit to murder?
- Sue Neill-Fraser’s second bid for freedom to focus on homeless girl
- High-profile Queen’s Counsel Robert Richter met with Premier Will Hodgman over murder case
HIGH-profile silk Robert Richter QC has made an unexpected entrance in the lead-up to Sue Neill-Fraser’s murder appeal, announcing in court that he will lead her bid for exoneration.
Mr Richter appeared in the Tasmanian Court of Criminal Appeal via video link from Melbourne on Wednesday alongside fellow appeal barristers Paul Smallwood and Chris Carr.
The barrister has previously acted for Cardinal George Pell, Melbourne underworld figure Mick Gatto, ATSIC chairman Geoff Clark and Hoddle St massacre perpetrator Julian Knight, among many other high-profile defendants.
Mr Richter, who is acting pro bono for Neill-Fraser and who intervened in the case in a behind-closed-doors meeting with then-Premier Will Hodgman, is said to normally charge between $12,000 and $15,000 a day for his services.
Paul Galbally will continue acting as instructing solicitor for Neill-Fraser’s team.
The court heard that chief witness, Meaghan Vass, will be giving evidence from a remote witness room and will not be physically present in court.
Justice Wood also announced the court had decided not to stream or video record proceedings.
She said counsel from both sides had expressed concerns about prejudice should the appeal result in a retrial, “which may arise from wide exposure of evidence and witnesses”.
Mr Richter said evidence in chief would be short and the appeal should not progress longer than five days, but it depended on how long Tasmanian Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC wished to cross-examine Ms Vass.
Neill-Fraser is currently serving a 23-year jail term for the Australia Day 2009 murder of her partner Bob Chappell.
She will become eligible for parole in August 2022, but has told supporters her only way out of prison is exoneration.
Sue Neill-Fraser won’t accept parole if appeal fails
February 23, 2021
THERE is only one way Sue Neill-Fraser will walk out of jail before her 23-year-term is up, her supporters say, and that is if she is exonerated of murder.
Long-time supporters of the convicted killer have told the Mercury the 66-year-old grandmother will not accept parole should her second appeal bid – due to unfold on Monday – fail.
“She will not apply for or accept parole because it would look like an acknowledgment of guilt,” key supporter Rosie Crumpton-Crook said.
“In Tasmania, you don’t have to admit guilt or remorse to get parole and I think she gets that. But she wants to be exonerated.
“If you’re a convicted murderer, there’s a cloud over your name, there’s still that stain. The police would still be checking on you and those types of things.
“Sue just doesn’t want to have to deal with that.”
Ms Crumpton-Crook said supporters were keenly holding out hope that next week’s Tasmanian Court of Criminal Appeal hearing would lead to an acquittal – not a retrial or the upholding of the original conviction.
“How can you find a jury that is unaware of this?” she said.
“How could you find anyone in Australia who had not heard about this case?
“It would also be very hard for Bob’s family.”
She said supporters had been nervously awaiting next week’s appeal, which Neill-Fraser initially applied for five years ago, and which has been repeatedly delayed.
“A retrial would be better than upholding the original conviction, but we would hope there won’t be a trial,” Ms Crumpton-Crook said.
“I think we’d all be completely traumatised if that happened.”
Neill-Fraser is currently serving a prison term of 23 years for the Australia Day 2009 murder of her partner, Bob Chappell.
She will be eligible for parole after serving 13 years, which will tick over in August 2022.
The Sunday Tasmanian previously reported that Neill-Fraser could still be eligible for parole next year despite her refusal to admit guilt.
Appeal to kick off next week
February 22, 2021
THE long-awaited and repeatedly delayed appeal hearing of convicted murderer Sue Neill-Fraser looks almost certain to proceed in a week’s time.
On Monday, Neill-Fraser appeared in the Tasmanian Court of Criminal Appeal via video link from the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, while her high-profile lawyer Paul Galbally attended on a link from Melbourne.
A brief administrative hearing had been called ahead of the expected five-day appeal to discuss video recording of proceedings.
COVID-19 restrictions mean there will be limited seating in the courtroom, a concern in a case expected to attract high levels of public interest.
Justices Helen Wood and Stephen Estcourt said the video recordings would not be live-streamed but “somewhat delayed” and would not include the evidence of witnesses in case the appeal resulted in a retrial.
Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates SC said the Crown did not oppose video recording, but was concerned around protocol and rules around who could watch, copy, modify or transmit the material.
Mr Galbally, who previously acted for Cardinal George Pell, agreed with Mr Coates and echoed his concerns around protocol.
A decision over the recordings will be delivered on Wednesday.
Speaking outside court, key supporter Rosie Crumpton-Crook said she was hopeful the appeal would progress after COVID-19 had thrown so many “spanners in the works”.
“It’s been five years now, five years, since Sue submitted her application for appeal, and in any justice system that’s too long,” she said.
“I imagine she is anxious and concerned; she’s probably very relieved that it’s just about finally here, but she’s very stoic, she’s very strong, she’s very brave, and she’s determined to have her name cleared.”
Ms Crumpton-Crook said supporters were keen for video recording of proceedings.
“I think most people want to be there to see this process through. We all care very deeply about what happens to Sue and we want to make sure things are done correctly and appropriately and swiftly,” she said.
Neill-Fraser is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for the Australia Day 2009 murder of her partner Bob Chappell.
Currently, she will be eligible for parole in August 2022.
Hearing dates for her second, and possibly final, bid for appeal were delayed repeatedly last year, with COVID-19 restrictions preventing her Melbourne-based legal team from travelling into Tasmania.
Teens charged over servo armed robbery
Two teenagers have been charged over an alleged armed robbery in Lutana on Wednesday. Latest.
Everybody appearing at Hobart Magistrates Court, Thursday, September 19
Here is a list of people appearing at Hobart Magistrates Court on September 19.