Author Archives: andrew

Bradley Murdoch – how DNA may have misled the jury

Posted on July 21, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. When juries in a circumstantial case are told of DNA, they assume that it’s a solid piece of evidence, unquestionable. The prosecution relies on this assumption and tells its story as if every DNA sample was like … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 12 Bradley Murdoch | 97 Comments

Robert Xie’s alibi – in bed with wife

Posted on July 7, 2020 by andrew

He had an alibi. Why was he charged, tried and convicted? Robert Xie and his wife Kathy have always maintained he was in their bed beside her at the relevant time on the night of the Lin family murders, for … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 9 Comments

Secret strategies – how they secure murder convictions without evidence

Posted on July 5, 2020 by andrew

In his book, Murder by the Prosecution (Wilkinson Publishing) ANDREW L. URBAN reports on murder trials that relied exclusively on circumstantial evidence and how these resulted in convictions – since overturned or under appeal. Through exploring these cases he came … Continue reading →

Posted in General articles | 23 Comments

Sue Neill-Fraser August appeal date uncertain

Posted on July 4, 2020 by andrew

The directions hearing in the Tasmanian Supreme Court before Justice Wood on Friday, July 3, 2020 was unable to settle on 17 August as the start date for the long awaited appeal against her 2010 murder conviction, reports Rosie Crumpton-Crook, … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 01 Sue Neill-Fraser | 28 Comments

Robert Xie – conflict in the jury room

Posted on July 3, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Of the 12 member jury at Robert Xie’s third murder trial in 2015, (the longest in NSW history), most voted NOT GUILTY. Some didn’t, resulting in a hung jury and a fourth trial, in 2016/17. Triggered by … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | Tagged | 15 Comments

The System v Robert Xie

Posted on July 1, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. As his appeal hearings draw to a close this week, Robert Xie’s fate lies in the hands of the judges. But how the legal system (mis)treated him over several years is also deserving of scrutiny. Convicted in … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 8 Comments

Robert Xie – exonerated by autopsy evidence

Posted on June 26, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. 26 June, 2020: With the backdrop of the appeal against his conviction, (started 22 June, 2020), a proposition emerges that it wasn’t Robert Xie who killed five members of the Lin family in 2009, but at least … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie, Forensic evidence | Leave a comment

Robert Xie appeal – was he ‘framed’?

Posted on June 24, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. “I am innocent,” Robert Xie called out in court before being led away to a lifetime in jail for the brutal and bloody murder of five of his wife’s family, with whom he had dinner the night … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 2 Comments

Robert Xie appeal Day 2 – stuck on DNA that wasn’t at crime scene

Posted on June 23, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban. Robert Xie’s barrister, Belinda Rigg SC, continued on Day 2 of the hearing to pull apart the expert evidence around the DNA, arguing to the appeal court that the uncertainty of forensic testing outcomes were never properly … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 1 Comment

Robert Xie appeal refutes DNA evidence at trial

Posted on June 22, 2020 by andrew

Andrew L. Urban.  Two large screens facing the court room show a diminutive Robert Xie, seated at a desk, dressed in black and holding a black pen, linked in from the Lithgow Correctional Facility, where he is serving a life … Continue reading →

Posted in Case 11 Robert Xie | 4 Comments