Murder case goes to Appeal Court

Simon Hall was jailed for life in 2003 for murdering Joan Albert

A man jailed for life for the 2001 murder of a 79-year-old woman has been granted a new appeal after doubts were raised over key scientific evidence.

Simon Hall, 32, from Ipswich, was jailed for life in 2003 for murdering Joan Albert, of Capel St Mary, Suffolk.

Hall was linked to the murder using fibres which matched his car and home.

Now the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has referred the case to the Court of Appeal over concerns that the fibres were not a match.

Hall's father Phil told the BBC: "We are absolutely elated and shocked at the same time, it's fantastic news.

"It has been such a long haul. I know the CCRC have been very, very thorough. We can't fault them."

He said they were hoping to speak to their son soon and hoped he could be freed pending the full appeal.

Joan Albert was found dead in the hallway of her home

Hall's solicitor Campbell Malone, a partner at Stephensons Solicitors, said: "I am very pleased Simon's case has been referred back to the Court of Appeal in the light of fresh expert evidence.

"Simon is currently serving a life sentence for this crime and has always maintained his innocence.

"The decision to refer the case back to the Court of Appeal gives him, his wife and his family renewed hope that the conviction will finally be quashed."

Stephanie Bon, a friend of Hall who has been involved in the campaign to free him, said: "I feel quite overwhelmed by the news.

"I think it is not a day too soon and I hope that Simon does not have to wait a year for the Appeal Court hearing."

'No fingerprint evidence'

Mrs Albert was murdered in the early hours of 16 December 2001.

Hall had been out drinking with friends in Ipswich and had an alibi for most of the night and early morning, except the period between 0530 and 0615 GMT.

The prosecution claimed that after driving to a house to drop off a friend in Ipswich, Hall then drove to Capel St Mary and parked his car close to Mrs Albert's home.

At his trial, the jury was told fingerprints, footprints and DNA evidence found at the murder scene did not match Hall's.

But detectives believed fibres from black trousers found at the scene, in his car and in a cupboard at his parent's home, tied him to the murder.

Hall appealed against his conviction, but the appeal was dismissed in April 2004.

He applied to the CCRC for a review of his conviction in June 2005.

'Undermining conviction'

A CCRC spokesman said the referral to the Appeal Court was based on "fresh forensic analysis of fibre samples taken from the crime scene and other locations during the original police investigation".

The spokesman said the CCRC "believes that new forensic evidence is capable of undermining key forensic evidence... and therefore raises the real possibility that the court would quash the murder conviction.

"The Court of Appeal will now hear a fresh appeal against Mr Hall's murder conviction and make a decision on whether to quash or uphold the conviction," he said.

It is understood the CCRC spent four years considering the case and examined and rejected 23 other potential grounds of appeal.

BBC Home Affairs correspondent Danny Shaw said Hall's conviction became a cause celebre, with the case featuring on the BBC Rough Justice programme.

The case is the latest in a series of convictions in which serious doubts have been raised about scientific evidence used at the original trial.

Barry George's conviction for the murder of Jill Dando was quashed in 2007 because too much reliance had been placed at his trial on firearms residue evidence.

Angela Cannings was cleared on appeal in 2003 of murdering her two baby sons after fresh evidence emerged indicating that the children might have died of natural causes.