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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
Life imprisonment |
Years Imprisoned: |
6.5 |
Year Crime: |
2012 |
Year Convicted: |
2016 |
Year Cleared: |
2019 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
Australia |
County or Region of Crime: |
Queensland |
City of Crime: |
Macleary Island |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Steven Mark John Fennell aka Steven Fennell was wrongly convicted in March 2016 of murder in the death of 85-year-old Liselotte Watson at her home on Macleary Island, Queensland, Australia in November 2012. Fennell's conviction was based on the prosecution's argument he had the motive and opportunity to murder Watson, and that a husband and wife tangentially linked him to the hammer that was the murder weapon. The jury convicted him after a two week trial in Brisbane, and on March 21, 2016 he was sentenced to life in prison. The Queensland Court of Appeal dismissed Fennell's appeal. Fennell's discretionary appeal was accepted by the High Court of Australia. After its hearing on September 11, 2019, the High Court of Australia unanimously quashed Fennell's murder conviction and ordered his acquittal. It reserved issuing its reasons. On November 6, 2019 the High Court released its written judgment quashing Fennell's conviction, citing the prosecution's circumstantial case presented insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Court's ruling noted that any number of people other than Fennell had the motive and opportunity to murder Watson, and that the couple's testimony linking Fennell to "the hammer was glaringly improbable." The ruling stated: "The Crown case concerning opportunity and motive was extremely weak. Mr Fennell's opportunity was, at best, a very small window of time which required an assumption about the time of the murder that was contradicted by other evidence. Even with that opportunity, the evidence of opportunity and motive did not put Mr Fennell in a relevantly different position from any of the numerous other people who shared the common knowledge that Mrs Watson kept large sums of money in her house. As the Crown properly accepted in this appeal, once that conclusion is reached the evidence from Mr and Mrs Matheson linking Mr Fennell to the hammer became essential evidence that a reasonable jury would have been required to accept before convicting Mr Fennell. To use Wigmore's metaphor, the evidence from Mr and Mrs Matheson became by far the most significant of the "strands in a cable" supporting the conviction. But the evidence of Mr and Mrs Matheson should have had so little weight that, at best, it was barely admissible." The Court held that based on the prosecution's evidence: "It was not open to the jury to be satisfied of Mr Fennell's guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Court of Appeal should have allowed the appeal, quashed the conviction, and entered a verdict of acquittal. For the reasons above, we made orders to that effect." [All quotes from: Fennell v. The Queen [2019] HCA 37] Fennell was released after 6-1/2 years in custody since his arrest." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"On September 11, 2019 the High Court of Australia unanimously quashed Steven Fennell's murder conviction and ordered his acquittal. On November 6, 2019 the High Court released its written reason for quashing Fennell's conviction was the prosecution's circumstantial case presented insufficient evidence to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
53 |
Age When Released: |
59 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
White |
Information Source 1: |
Fennell v. The Queen [2019] HCA 37 (Quashing conviction based on insufficient evidence and ordering acquittal.) |
Information Location 1: |
http://eresources.hcourt.gov.au/downloadPdf/2019/HCA/37 |
Information Source 2: |
"I'm pissed': Steven Fennell speaks out after Macleay Island murder acquittal, By Jocelyn Garcia, Brisbane Times, September 12, 2019" |
Information Location 2: |
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/i-m-pissed-steven-fennell-speaks-out-after-macleay-island-murder-acquittal-20190912-p52qst.html |
Information Source 3: |
"Man convicted of murdering 85-year-old woman on Macleay Island, By AAP, Brisbane Times, September 21, 2016" |
Information Location 3: |
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/man-convicted-of-murdering-85yearold-woman-on-macleay-island-20160321-gnnf4i.html |
Information Source 4: |
"Steven Fennell sentenced to life in prison for Macleay Island murder of Liselotte Watson, By Louisa Rebgetz, ABC News (Australia), March 21, 2016" |
Information Location 4: |
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-21/man-found-guilty-of-murder-macleay-island-grandmother/7257866 |
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Comments About Case: |
Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org