UK court quashes businessman's conviction for murdering wife and daughter

[WildestDreams]

Mark Lundy: UK court quashes businessman's conviction for murdering wife and daughter, 7, in New Zealand

7 Oct 2013 10:50
By Sam Adams

A panel of five judges - four British and one from New Zealand - ruled Mark Lundy's conviction was not safe and that he should be retried

A father convicted of murdering his wife and daughter, 7, in New Zealand a decade ago has won an appeal against the decision in a UK court

New Zealander Mark Lundy asked the judicial committee of the Privy Council - which sits in London - to analyse his case more than a decade after he was convicted of killing wife Christine and daughter Amber at the family home in Palmerston North.

The weapon used to kill the pair was believed to be 'tomahawk-like.'

Five British Supreme Court judges plus a senior New Zealand judge - today ruled that Lundy's conviction was unsafe and that he should be retried, according to Sky News.

The judicial committee of the Privy Council was the highest court of appeal for the British Empire and can hear appeals from cases originating in Commonwealth - or former Commonwealth - countries.

Legal experts said the judicial committee of the Privy Council was effectively sitting as a New Zealand Supreme Court. They said New Zealand now has a Supreme Court but did not have one when Lundy was convicted.

Lundy's lawyer told One News that his client was "very happy" about the decision.

He said: "He's very glad that he will now get the chance to have the evidence tested properly by a jury - something that's never happened before."

He said the next step was for the solicitor general to make a determination about whether a retrial will be held.

The lawyer said Lundy's legal status is now a "murder accused," he is no longer convicted and may or may not face a retrial for the murders.