The High Court has ruled that Gerard Baden-Clay’s conviction for the murder of his wife Allison in 2012 will stand.
Baden-Clay was convicted of murder in 2014 but the Court of Appeal downgraded the charge to manslaughter in December 2015.
This new charge overrules the controversial previous conviction and leaves him with no further avenues of appeal.
Baden-Clay will serve a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in 2027, reports News Corp.
The High Court declared that the Court of Appeal had “erred in concluding that the jury’s verdict of guilty of murder was unreasonable on the basis that the prosecution had failed to exclude the hypothesis that Gerard Baden-Clay unintentionally killed his wife”.
“In particular, the Court [of Appeal] accepted the respondent’s submission, made for the first time on appeal, that the prosecution had not excluded the hypothesis that there was a physical confrontation between the appellant and his wife in which he delivered a blow which killed her [for example, by the effects of a fall hitting her head against a hard surface] without intending to cause grievous bodily harm.”
A spokesperson for the family, and Allison’s long-time friend Kerry Anne Walker, spoke to media outside of the court, describing the decision as one of both “relief and elation”.
“The law has acknowledged what we, who were closest to her, knew from that very morning Allison went missing — that is — that she was murdered,” she said according to the ABC.
“Today’s decision brings an end to Gerard’s attempts to smear Allison’s name. If some were in doubt as to his true nature, his behaviour after Allison disappeared and during the trial must have removed that doubt.
“Her legacy will be her beautiful three girls who, surrounded now by their memories of Allison and the love and support of Allison’s devoted family, are thriving in their busy lives.
“All who know them are confident they will go on to achieve great things. I am in awe every day of how well Allison’s parents Geoff and Priscilla and her sister Vanessa deal with their day-to-day busy lives.
“The girls are certainly a tribute to them.”
