KEY POINTS: "Two of three appeal judges have dismissed Neill-Fraser's second appeal against her 2010 murder conviction: Justice Stephen Estcourt said he would have allowed the appeal and ordered a retrial: Neither Mr Chappell's body nor a weapon have been found and Neill-Fraser has continued to maintain her innocence."
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GIST: “Hobart woman Susan Neill-Fraser's appeal against her murder conviction has been dismissed by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
A Supreme Court jury in 2010 found Neill-Fraser guilty of murdering her partner Bob Chappell on board the couple's yacht, Four Winds, in 2009.
Mr Chappell's body has never been found.
The appeal is 67-year-old Neill-Fraser's second, and was made possible after a law change in 2015.
Neill-Fraser's daughters and a group of supporters, including former premier Lara Giddings attended the Supreme Court in Hobart for the judgment.
The appeal centred on questions about how the DNA of a then homeless teenager, Meaghan Vass, came to be found on the deck of the Four Winds.
At the 2010 trial, Ms Vass told the jury she did not remember ever being on or near the yacht at the time of Mr Chappell's disappearance, and could not remember where she was on the night of January 26, 2009.
The prosecution argued at trial that Ms Vass's DNA got onto the deck as a result of secondary transfer — such as from the sole of a shoe.
Neill-Fraser's lawyers relied on evidence from Victoria Police forensic specialist Maxwell Jones to argue the prosecution was wrong at trial to dismiss the DNA deposit as a red herring, and that if the jury had Mr Jones' evidence, there was a "significant possibility" of a different verdict.
Two of the three Justices rejected the appeal, with one returning a dissenting judgement.
In her reasons for dismissing the appeal, Justice Helen Wood said the jury did not need to decide whether Ms Vass's DNA was the result of a direct deposit or secondary deposit in order to have found Neill-Fraser guilty.
"It was entirely open to the jury to be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt of the appellant's guilt and to regard the State's case that the appellant was the perpetrator as an overwhelming case," Justice Wood said.
"After careful consideration of this appeal I have reached the conclusion that the evidence relied upon by the appellant is not fresh, is not compelling," Justice Helen Wood said.
"There has not been a substantial miscarriage of justice."
Justice Robert Pearce said he would also dismiss the appeal, but Justice Stephen Estcourt wrote a dissenting judgment.
"I would uphold the appeal and quash the appellant's conviction for murder," he wrote in his reasons.
"In my view, the only appropriate order 3 … is an order that there be a retrial."
Just before the decision, Neill-Fraser smiled and mouthed "hello" to her daughters who were in the courtroom.
Family taking legal advice:
Outside court, Neill-Fraser's daughter Sarah Bowles described the judgment as a "disappointing and devastating outcome for the family".
She said the family would seek legal advice on the next steps.
"There's nothing that's going to undo the institutionalising effects this has had on mum both physically and psychologically," she said.
"It's really a tragedy and it is one we need to focus on and resolve and I'm going to do everything in my power and I know that we have got a huge number of people who are going to continue to fight for this to see justice achieved."
Ms Bowles welcomed the dissenting judgment of one of the three justices.
"It was great to see that Justice Estcourt could see that clearly there are glaring issues with this case which need to be examined.
"I think that that then provides an opportunity for us to explore options within the justice system further".
Ms Bowles said the case was about "more than us as a family and we need to protect other people downstream".
She said there had been a lot of "vitriol and hatred" against the family for "pushing back".
"Mum is now facing 13 Christmases in prison and hasn't spent a single Christmas with my kids and that's obviously very devastating," Ms Bowles said.
"I think that if people can suspend their judgement about what they might believe in this case and acknowledge what that might be like for her, and for us as a family, the ripple effect of a case like this is enormous".
Former Tasmanian premier Lara Giddings, whose mother has been a long-time supporter of Neill-Fraser, spoke on behalf of the supporter group outside the court.
She said the group was disappointed, but did "take some hope" from Justice Estcourt's comments.
Ms Giddings also renewed her call for a commission of inquiry to investigate the case.
"We have many concerns about how this case has been handled from day one," she said.
Ms Giddings said Meaghan Vass should have been better supported when she gave evidence during the appeal hearing — evidence that was abandoned by Neill-Fraser's lawyers after Ms Vass gave contradictory statements.
She said the names Ms Vass mentioned in her testimony should have been suppressed.
"As soon as those names were published, her life was in danger," Ms Giddings said.
She said Neill-Fraser's supporters would continue their fight.
"This matter will not go away. It cannot go away, we cannot afford for it to go away.
"We will be continuing to work with the Upper House in the hope that we will get an inquiry that will allow a number of the issues that cannot and are not allowed to be exposed in the court to be exposed in the parliament.”
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Key dates:
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2009: Police respond to reports of a yacht taking on water moored in Hobart's River Derwent. Police find the owner of the Four Winds, Bob Chappell is missing and suspect foul play. Police arrest his de facto partner, Susan Neill-Fraser, at her West Hobart home and charge her with his murder -
2010: Neill-Fraser pleads not guilty and tells the jury she had no financial problems at the time and denies the pair's relationship was rocky. After deliberating for 18 hours, a jury finds her guilty of murdering Mr Chappell and she is sentenced to 26 years' jail with a non-parole period of 18 years -
2012: The Court of Criminal Appeal dismisses Neill-Fraser's appeal against the conviction but allows the appeal against her sentence which is eventually reduced to 23 years with a non-parole period of 13 years -
2015: Tasmania's parliament changes right to appeal laws, allowing her to launch another appeal on the grounds of "fresh and compelling evidence" -
2019: Neill-Fraser launches a second appeal after Justice Michael Brett found she has a reasonable case to present to the Court of Criminal Appeal, a case that includes questions over DNA evidence of then-homeless teenager Meaghan Vass found on the yacht -
2021: The second appeal is heard over three days, eventually being dismissed in a 2-1 judgement, with Justice Stephen Estcourt dissenting, saying he would order a retrial. - —————————————————————-
The entire story can be read at:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-30/susan-neill-fraser-loses-appeal-dismissed/100660392
