Sue Neill-Fraser’s murder appeal likely to proceed in August
Sue Neill-Fraser, who has spent nearly 11 years in jail for murdering her partner Bob Chappell, has been told the likely date for her long-awaited second bid to clear her name.
Police & Courts
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CONVICTED murderer Sue Neill-Fraser could walk free from prison within months, with her appeal hearing now tentatively locked in for August 17.
The 66-year-old grandmother has spent more than a decade behind bars in the Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison for killing her partner, Royal Hobart Hospital chief physicist Bob Chappell, aboard their yacht on Australia Day 2009.
On Monday, Neill-Fraser appeared in the Supreme Court in Hobart via video link, with lawyer Paul Smallwood saying it was her “great hope that the appeal can begin from 17 August”.
Neill-Fraser, who has always protested her innocence, was scheduled to appeal against her murder conviction during a 10-day hearing from May 25 this year.
But due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, her interstate legal team – headed up by Cardinal George Pell’s lawyer Paul Galbally – was unable to fly into Hobart.
“If it’s convenient to the court, we aim to proceed on that date, the 17th of August, unless it becomes apparent that date is untenable,” Mr Smallwood said.
Justice Helen Wood agreed and locked in the date, also scheduling a backup date for November 2.
“We don’t have confirmation what will be the situation in Tasmania from 17 August,” she said.
“But should we hope for the best?”
The decision to delay the hearing was made in April after Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates said the case needed to be conducted face-to-face due to its complex and lengthy nature.
Neill-Fraser, who has been in custody since August 2009, has served almost 11 years of a 23-year sentence.
With a non-parole period of 13 years, she will currently become eligible for release on August 20, 2022.
During her 2010 trial, prosecutors said Neill-Fraser killed her lover, their relationship at an end, by striking him with a wrench or other tool then dumping his body overboard – possibly weighing him down with a fire extinguisher.
Mr Chappell’s body has never been found.
Neill-Fraser will return to court on July 3.
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