Murgatroyd killer to appeal

Greenwood believes he was wrongly convicted

The man convicted of beating a promising young law student unconscious, dumping her in a river and leaving her to die in 1996 is to appeal.

Andrew Greenwood, 28, was cleared of murder by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court in June but found guilty of manslaughter after a three-week retrial.

Greenwood's solicitor announced the appeal will be based on the fact that the judge in the retrial did not allow the jury to take into account claims a former boyfriend of Janet Murgatroyd been violent towards her.

Greenwood had confessed to police three years after the death that he had beaten the 20-year-old student before dumping her unconscious, naked body in the River Ribble in Preston where she drowned.

But he retracted that confession and claimed he was innocent of murder.

Seven-year mystery solved

At the appeal, it will also be argued that Greenwood's conviction was inconsistent with the evidence, which was presented in court on the basis of a trial for murder and not manslaughter.

Janet was attacked as she was walking home after a night out with friends in Preston in June 1996.

The prosecution had claimed Greenwood, of Sephton Street, Lostock Hall, Lancashire, killed Ms Murgatroyd after she spurned his advances in a chance encounter and his confession was a largely true account of what happened.

His barrister Andrew Edis QC told the court the confession was false and may have resulted from Greenwood's depression.

The case will now be heard by the Court of Appeal in London.