Wednesday 14 May 2008

High Court orders retrial for Gassy

The High Court has ordered a retrial for the man convicted of the execution-style murder of South Australian mental health services chief Margaret Tobin.

The court ruled on Tuesday that directions to a deadlocked jury in the Supreme Court trial of Jean Eric Gassy were not sufficiently balanced.

Dr Tobin was gunned down as she left a lift to return to her office in an Adelaide city building on October 14, 2002.

She was shot four times but no one at the scene was able to identify her attacker.

The Crown alleged Gassy killed Dr Tobin because of resentment and anger over her role in his deregistration as both a medical practitioner and psychiatrist in Sydney.

By a 3-2 majority, the High Court on Tuesday allowed Gassy's appeal and ordered a new trial.

It said the trial judge's directions to a jury deadlocked after a day and a half of deliberations lacked neutrality, causing a substantial miscarriage of justice

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