Friday, November 13, 2015

Henry Keogh: Murder charge dropped by Director of Public Prosecutions in South Australia Supreme Court; "Keogh’s brother, David Keogh, told media outside the Supreme Court that his brother had served 21 years in prison for “a crime he didn’t do and, sadly, a crime that never happened”..."Long-time supporter and legal expert Dr Bob Moles said it was “a terrific relief at long last”. “We were exceedingly disappointed when the DPP decided to re prosecute the matter,” Dr Moles said. “I’ve always taken the view that there were no proper grounds for further prosecution and I’m extremely relieved to see that the DPP has now recognised that and dropped the prosecution.” Dr Moles said he spoke briefly with Mr Keogh soon after the story was broken at 11.20am on Advertiser.com.au. “We didn’t know that there was going to be any announcement before the court hearing this afternoon. So when we saw the item come up on The Advertiser website we were very, very pleased to see that it is now public information. “There of course will be immense implications for the other cases that have involved the forensic pathologist in Henry’s case and I would like to think there would be a formal inquiry set up fairly soon to find out what’s been going on behind all of this.”.........Keogh’s conviction was overturned due to doubts over the forensic evidence of Dr Colin Manock, SA’s former chief forensic pathologist." ABC News.







Analysis: Will he be entitled to compensation?;The Anne-Jane Cheney murder — a crime which stunned the state;How Henry Keogh had his conviction overturned' Prosecutors were insistent a third trial would go ahead'; Defence said third trial was doomed to fail'
GIST: "Henry Keogh’s third trial for the alleged murder of Anna-Jane Cheney has been abandoned in the Supreme Court this afternoon.vIn a sensational development in the long-running case, Director of Public Prosecutions Adam Kimber SC entered a nolle prosequi against Keogh, which formally withdrew the case from the court list.vMr Kimber appeared before Justice Malcolm Blue at 4.30pm to announce his decision. Keogh was not present in the courtroom during the hearing, which lasted less than two minutes. In a statement issued through his lawyers, Keogh thanked all the people who had supported him “from the start of this ordeal to the end”. He repeated his stance that he remained innocent of the charge of murdering Ms Cheney at their Magill home in 1994. “I want to state very clearly that I loved my fiance Anna-Jane and absolutely deny having anything to do with her death,” he said. “This was — and still is — a terrible tragedy for Anna-Jane, her family and me. “I now look forward to trying to make up for all those lost years with my family and friends. Sources told The Advertiser earlier today that the case had taken a dramatic turn in the past 24 hours that centred around the availability of a key witness to give evidence in the trial. In a statement, Mr Kimber said the witness had become unwell after May 1 and was unable to give evidence. “As a consequence I was obliged to review whether the matter could proceed,” he said. “Having conducted that review I concluded that it was not appropriate to proceed without the witness giving evidence and being cross examined. “I concluded that essential matters would not be able to be proved unless the witness was called. “I came to the view that there was no reasonable prospect of conviction without the witness. “As a consequence, I discontinued the prosecution today.” Mr Kimber said he would not be identifying the witness. “They are entitled to privacy with respect to their health.”.........Keogh’s brother, David Keogh, told media outside the Supreme Court that his brother had served 21 years in prison for “a crime he didn’t do and, sadly, a crime that never happened”..........Long-time supporter and legal expert Dr Bob Moles said it was “a terrific relief at long last”. “We were exceedingly disappointed when the DPP decided to re prosecute the matter,” Dr Moles said. “I’ve always taken the view that there were no proper grounds for further prosecution and I’m extremely relieved to see that the DPP has now recognised that and dropped the prosecution.”  Dr Moles said he spoke briefly with Mr Keogh soon after the story was broken at 11.20am on Advertiser.com.au. “We didn’t know that there was going to be any announcement before the court hearing this afternoon. So when we saw the item come up on The Advertiser website we were very, very pleased to see that it is now public information. “There of course will be immense implications for the other cases that have involved the forensic pathologist in Henry’s case and I would like to think there would be a formal inquiry set up fairly soon to find out what’s been going on behind all of this.”.........Keogh’s conviction was overturned due to doubts over the forensic evidence of Dr Colin Manock, SA’s former chief forensic pathologist. The jury verdict from his second trial was set aside in December last year following the first ever appeal under the state’s fresh and compelling evidence laws. Counsel for Keogh had attacked the evidence of Dr Colin Manock, then the state’s chief forensic pathologist, who concluded Ms Cheney was deliberately drowned in her bathtub. Keogh’s counsel, however, called expert witnesses who claimed Ms Cheney may have suffered a fatal anaphylactic shock caused by the drug hismanal. The Full Court agreed Dr Manock’s assertions were “unreliable”, his conclusions “not properly explored” and his autopsy “inadequate”. It said his opinion on the manner of Ms Cheney’s death was “no more than prejudicial speculation” and that it was “reasonably arguable” Keogh had suffered a miscarriage of justice."
 
The entire decision can be found at:

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Dear Reader. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog. We are following this case.
 
I have added a search box for content in this blog which now encompasses several thousand posts. The search box is located  near the bottom of the screen just above the list of links. I am confident that this powerful search tool provided by "Blogger" will help our readers and myself get more out of the site.
 
The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
 
 http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
 
Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at:
 
http://smithforensic.blogspot.ca/2013/12/the-charles-smith-award-presented-to_28.html  
I look forward to hearing from readers at:

hlevy15@gmail.com;  Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog;
Posted by at