AFTER 28 long, sad years, the mother of Victorian woman Jennifer Tanner, who was killed by her policeman brother-in-law, hopes her ordeal is finally over.
Denis Tanner was found by a coroner in 1998 to have killed Ms Tanner, who was shot twice in the head at her Bonnie Doon home in November 1984, but he has never been charged.
In August, Mr Tanner's lawyers urged the Victorian Coroners Court to set aside the 1998 finding, but on Friday they abandoned the application after a key piece of evidence was found not to be new.
Ms Tanner's mother Kath Blake said outside court the family was happy with the finding from the 1998 inquest and hoped their ordeal was now over.
"It's been a long, sad 28 years for us and we're hoping to see the finish today," she told reporters.
"We still are happy with (then-state coroner) Graeme Johnstone's finding in 1998."
Under Victorian law, Mr Tanner must prove there is new evidence before a fresh inquest can be ordered.
His lawyer Bob Galbally said Mr Tanner had been found to have contributed to Ms Tanner's death on the basis of a low standard of proof and now had no forum to overturn the finding.
"He is in a position where in the court of public opinion he is guilty," Mr Galbally said.
"Justice in Victoria does not visit everybody and it hasn't visited Mr Tanner ... because he is in a position where he has not had his day in court."
A recent search by Mr Tanner uncovered a witness statement that had been said to be new evidence.
The statement was in fact made at the time the 1998 inquest was held.
The statement was the key piece of evidence in Mr Tanner's case for a fresh inquest, the court heard.
Applying for costs to be ordered against Mr Tanner, a lawyer for the Victoria Police chief commissioner said Mr Tanner had known about the existence of the statement since 1998.
She said his application was doomed to fail.
State Coroner Jennifer Coate reserved her decision on costs.
Mr Tanner argued in August that the previous finding was seriously flawed and a miscarriage of justice.
He urged Judge Coate to quash the finding and hold a new inquest.
On Friday, Mr Tanner left court without commenting to reporters.
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Alleged killer cop stays in legal limbo
Dengan url
http://laptoptua.blogspot.com/2012/11/alleged-killer-cop-stays-in-legal-limbo.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Alleged killer cop stays in legal limbo
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
Alleged killer cop stays in legal limbo
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar