The family of murdered real estate agent Allison Baden-Clay is disappointed after her husband’s murder conviction was downgraded to manslaughter on appeal.
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Baden Clay’s appeal was heard by Justice Hugh Fraser in Queensland’s Court of Appeal this morning.
“I can’t believe that a history of (emotional) violence that was very clear, and that it can be appealed and made into manslaughter”.
The jury convicted him of murder.
“Why is it so hard to believe that when there’s a history of violence that the murder is not (sic) intentional”, Ms Batty said.
“We would have liked it to be finished today so (the Baden-Clay) girls can move on and the family can move on”.
In 2014, he told the court that the scratches on his face had been caused by shaving.
To this effect, the appeal did not reconsider whether Baden-Clay was responsible for the killing of his wife.
Lawyers for Baden-Clay acknowledged he had not been truthful in court, but successfully argued he had “accidentally” taken Mrs Baden-Clay’s life during an argument.
“While findings (Baden-Clay) lied about the cause of his facial injuries and had endeavoured to hide his wife’s body should not have been separated out from the other evidence in considering their effect, the difficulty is that, viewed in that way, the post-offence conduct evidence nonetheless remained neutral on the issue of intent”, the judgment, handed down at 9.30am, read.
A conviction of manslaughter has been substituted.
Baden-Clay will be resentenced for manslaughter.
He has been found guilty of manslaughter instead and must make submissions on sentence. The sentence imposed must reflect the unacceptability of domestic violence in any context.
While the motive for her death is known only to her killer, Allison Baden-Clay’s killing provides yet another example of the tragic consequences of domestic violence in Australia.
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Stunned silence followed the decision when it was announced to a packed Brisbane courtroom filled with Allison’s family and supporters. In 2015, it has claimed on average the lives of two Australian women per week.
