Peter Falconio - Appeals

Appeals

Subsequent to his conviction, Murdoch appealed the conviction and sentence. On 10 January 2007, the Northern Territory Court of Criminal Appeal (NT CCA) dismissed both limbs of the appeal.

Murdoch then applied for Special Leave to appeal to the High Court of Australia. On 21 June 2007, the High Court refused to grant Special Leave. Under the Australian judicial system, Murdoch has now exhausted all opportunities of appeal. Subsequent to the High Court of Australia refusing to grant Murdoch's application for Special Leave, there has been media speculation that Murdoch will lodge a further appeal. Perth-based QC Tom Percy is believed to be preparing Murdoch's appeal.

The appeal comes after the collapse of the case against Sean Hoey, who was acquitted in December 2007 of 58 charges, including 29 murders, related to the Omagh bombing in 1998. The NT Department of Public Prosecutions said they had not been notified of the action, and the Northern Territory Police would not comment.

Evidence against both Murdoch and Hoey was given by Dr Jonathan Whitaker of Britain's Yorkshire-based Forensic Science Service using a controversial technique called low copy number DNA. At Hoey's trial in Belfast, however, several experts said the low copy number DNA technique used to identify the accused was unreliable, and the judge was highly critical in his assessment of Dr Whitaker's evidence. British police suspended use of the technique, but it has now been resumed following a review by the Crown Prosecution Service which concluded that "the CPS has not seen anything to suggest that any current problems exist with LCN". The findings have been questioned by other forensic experts, including Allan Jamieson, director of the Forensic Institute in Glasgow, who gave evidence at the Omagh trial questioning the validity of LCN.