Glenn McNeill, the New Zealander convicted of murdering Australian Janelle Patton, wants to appeal his conviction on the grounds that his confession to police should not have been played to the jury, it was reported today.
McNeill, who was jailed in Australia for Norfolk Island's first murder in
150 years, was seeking permission to challenge his conviction, Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper said.
It said lawyers for McNeill, who was living in Nelson at the time of his arrest, had lodged a draft notice of appeal with Australia's Federal Court against his conviction for Ms Patton's 2002 murder.
A jury found McNeill guilty in March of murdering the 29-year-old - who vanished while on a morning walk -.
Ms Patton suffered more than 60 injuries before her body was dumped in a picturesque island reserve.
When McNeill, 29, was last month jailed for up to 24 years, his lawyers signalled that the former chef would challenge the jury's verdict.
But the Telegraph reported they missed the deadline to file his notice of appeal and now need to seek leave from the Federal Court before the appeal could proceed.
Ms Patton's mother, Carol, told the paper she was disappointed that the case was not yet over.
"While we felt we had that closure, it's now opened up again and it's yet another ordeal that we as a family have to go through," she said.
- NZPA
