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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Second Degree Murder |
Sentence: |
Life Imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
6.25 |
Year Crime: |
1983 |
Year Convicted: |
1983 |
Year Cleared: |
2013 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Western Australia |
City of Crime: |
Perth |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated |
Summary of Case: |
"Christian Wilhelm Michael (who later changed his name to Chris von Deutschburg) was wrongly convicted of murder for the death of Stavros Kakulas 7 days after Michael burglarized his home in Perth, Western Australia on June 1, 1983. An autopsy performed by Dr. Donald Hainsworth determined Kakulas' direct cause of death was internal bleeding from an acute duodenal ulcer. During the burglary the 18-year-old Michael scuffled with the 86-year-old Kakulas. Michael was indicted on December 5, 1983 for burglary and also murder based on the prosecution's theory that the scuffle aggravated Kakulas' ulcer causing the bleeding. Michael pled guilty to burglary on December 14, 1983 but not guilty to murder. The prosecution's only evidence supporting the murder charge was expert evidence in a letter by Dr. Hainsworth that "This ulcer had arisen after the injuries and was the result of the deceased having undergone physical & (psychological) stress." Michael testified and admitted to the burglary and stealing money and a radio, but he denied causing physical injuries described by Dr. Hainsworth. In summing up the case for the jury the trial judge emphasized that the prosecution's argument was that the ulcer arose because of the stress of the burglary..After a three-day jury trial Michael was convicted on December 16, 1983 of second-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison at hard labor. Michael was released on parole in early 1990 after more than 6 years of imprisonment. He changed his name to Chris von Deutschburg, and in 2005 he began an effort to quash his conviction based on new medical evidence that bacteria and not stress causes ulcers, and that Kakulas' ulcer likely existed prior to the burglary. Michael's (von Deutschburg) petition to quash his conviction as a miscarriage of justice (under the Royal Prerogative of Mercy) was referred by the Attorney General for Westerna Australia to the WA Court of Appeal on April 28, 2012. Based on the new evidence of Affidavits by three experts that included Nobel Prize winners Dr. Barry Marshall the Court of Appeals issued its opinion on March 1, 2013 that if the jury had heard the new medical evidence it would have had a reasonable doubt of Michael's (von Deutschburg's) guilt and thus "A miscarriage of justice occurred at the trial." The Court ordered that Michael (von Deutschburg's) conviction for murder be set aside and a judgment of acquittal be entered. The acquittal was more than 29 years after his conviction. See, Von Deutschburg v. The Queen [2013] WASCA 57." |
Conviction Caused By: |
Erroneous expert medical evidence about the cause of the burglary victim's death. |
Innocence Proved By: |
"Based on the new evidence of Affidavits by two experts the Court of Appeals issued its opinion on March 1, 2013 that if the jury had heard the new medical evidence it would have had a reasonable doubt of Michael's (von Deutschburg's) guilt and thus "A miscarriage of justice occurred at the trial." The Court ordered that Michael (von Deutschburg's) conviction for murder be set aside and a judgment of acquittal be entered." |
Defendant Aided By: |
"Attorney Sam Vandongan, Legal Aid Natalie Sinton and journalist Paul Lampathakis." |
Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
19 |
Age When Released: |
25 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
Von Deutschburg v. The Queen [2013] WASCA 57 |
Information Location 1: |
http://decisions.justice.wa.gov.au/supreme/supdcsn.nsf/judgment.xsp?documentId=DA785EB2A5F799BF48257B21000C88F1&action=openDocument&SessionID=DEZYNL42T3 |
Information Source 2: |
"Chris von Deutschburg cleared of 1983 'ulcer murder', By Paul Lampathakis (staff), PerthNow (Perth, AUS), March 1, 2013" |
Information Location 2: |
http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/top-stories/chris-von-deutschburg-cleared-of-1983-ulcer-murder/story-e6frg12l-1226588392509 |
Information Source 3: |
"Murder conviction quashed with medical advances, Natasha Boddy (Staff), The West Australian, March 1, 2013" |
Information Location 3: |
http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/16274953/murder-conviction-quashed-with-medical-advances/ |
Information Source 4: |
"Murder conviction overturned on Nobel Prize ulcer evidence, By Australian Associated Press, The Australian, March 1, 2013" |
Information Location 4: |
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/murder-conviction-overturned-on-nobel-prize-ulcer-evidence/story-e6frg6nf-1226588420255 |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org