Judgment expected in Tas killer's appeal
Hobart woman Susan Neill-Fraser, who is in jail for killing her husband, is likely to find out on Thursday whether an appeal against her murder conviction will proceed.
Neill-Fraser is serving 23 years' behind bars for killing Bob Chappell on the couple's Four Winds yacht moored at Sandy Bay on Australia Day 2009.
She will be granted leave to appeal if her legal team has managed to convince a judge there is "fresh and compelling" evidence.
Justice Michael Brett is expected to deliver his judgment on at 4pm in Hobart Supreme Court.
Much of Neill-Fraser's last-ditch freedom bid, which began in October 2017, has centred around the whereabouts of then-homeless teenager Meaghan Vass, whose DNA was found aboard the Four Winds yacht.
Prior to the appeal bid beginning in court, Vass signed a document saying she was on the boat the night of the murder but backflipped when giving evidence, telling the court it wasn't true and that she had put her name to it under threats.
The case was adjourned in February for a decision but was re-opened earlier this month so a new affidavit from Ms Vass about her whereabouts on January 26, 2009 could be included.
A March edition of Nine's 60 Minutes, shown on mainland Australia but not in Tasmania, revealed Ms Vass had made a new affidavit.
The case was set down for a mention on Thursday, but that was changed late on Wednesday to a judgment.
Neill-Fraser was in 2010 found guilty of bludgeoning Mr Chappell and dumping him in the River Derwent.
His body has never been found.
Neill-Fraser has maintained her innocence but several appeals against her conviction have failed.
