Convicted murderer to appeal

A Nelson man is appealing a conviction for murdering his neighbour two years ago.

Damian Harley MacDonald, 22, was sentenced in February to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years for murdering Nicholas Winter, 26.

MacDonald bashed Mr Winter over the head with a wooden fence post outside the flats where they lived and left him to die on the front lawn, the prosecution said.

Lawyer Donald Stevens, QC, told the Nelson Mail newspaper MacDonald was appealing his conviction on the grounds of miscarriage of justice.

The exact details would be disclosed during a Court of Appeal hearing in Wellington, scheduled for August 31.

- NZPA