GIST: "For 45 years he's maintained his innocence. Now, could one of South Australia's most controversial convictions be overturned?"
The entire documentary can be found at:
https://www.todaytonightadelaide.com.au/stories/van-beelen
See ABC News Story (Reporter Candice Prosser) on the on-going appeal before five justices at the link below: (Under the heading 'Van Beelen murder appeal lawyer citicizes original evidence as 'unscientific.')..."A man convicted of murdering an Adelaide teenager more than 40 years ago has appealed to the High Court, arguing flawed forensic evidence presented at his trial amounted to a substantial miscarriage of justice. Frits Van Beelen, 70, was originally sentenced to death over the murder of Deborah Leach but was later released from prison after serving 17 years. The 15-year-old girl was drowned and sexually assaulted at Taperoo Beach in 1971. Mr Van Beelen has launched a new appeal on the grounds of "fresh and compelling" evidence under recent legislative amendments. His lawyers have argued flawed evidence presented at his trial by forensic pathologist Dr Colin Manock about the time of the teenager's death cast doubt over the conviction. Mr Van Beelen lost a Supreme Court appeal in a majority decision, and is now seeking to have that ruling overturned in the High Court. It is the first time the new appeal laws have been tested in the High Court. Mr Van Beelen's lawyer, Kevin Borick QC, told the court there had been a miscarriage of justice. "In order for Van Beelen to be convicted the jury had to accept Dr Manock's evidence that the death occurred between 4:10 and 4:30," Mr Borick said. "They had to accept that the death occurred at the time he was at the beach, that's 4:15 and 4:30 but that's an error, Dr Manock was completely wrong." Mr Borick told the court the evidence presented at trial was unreliable. "The miscarriage of justice occurs because an unscientific opinion was expressed which was not only wrong, but it was scientifically invalid," he said. He said evidence of fibres found on the teenager's clothing that allegedly matched Mr Van Beelen's clothing was also disputed at the time. "The value of that fibre evidence, in my submission, falls away to nothing until we have Van Beelen at the beach at the relevant time ... when the death occurred," Mr Borick said. "It's still always going to come back to the fact that the jury were told that the death occurred before 4.30. If it occurred after 4.30, which had to be a reasonable possibility, then the jury could not have convicted.""
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-21/evidence-disputed-at-van-beelen-murder-appeal/8639604
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. 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/c
