Lundy to appeal murder conviction

Mark Lundy. Photo NZ Herald
Mark Lundy. Photo NZ Herald
Mark Lundy will appeal his double-murder conviction, according to lawyer Julie-Anne Kincade.

"I can now inform you that an appeal will be lodged with the Court of Appeal on behalf of Mark Lundy. The appeal is against sentence and conviction.

"It is not appropriate to rehearse in any detail in a public forum the grounds of the appeal, but it can be said that the issues raised will include a consideration of the [messenger RNA] evidence," Ms Kincade said this afternoon.

Dave Jones, husband of Mark Lundy's sister Caryl Jones, said he knew about the appeal, but did not want to comment as he did not know any details about the appeal.

Lundy's sister-in-law Andrea also declined to comment but had been made aware of the appeal.

Ribonucleic acid (RNA) was discussed during the trial at the High Court in Wellington last month.

Dr Laetitia Sijen from the Netherlands Forensic Institute told the court she arrived at her conclusion brain matter was present on Mark Lundy's shirt based on tests performed on RNA in a sample.

RNA indicates which part of the body cells came from and was different to DNA, which revealed who cells belonged to.

Professor of molecular medicine Stephen Buston, from Angela Ruskin University in Cambridge, UK, told the jury Dr Sijen did not follow written instructions when conducting tests on the sample.

He claimed there were problems with timings and the test.

"The method they are using for the detection of RNA is not really fit for purpose," Prof Buston said in court.

"I would be highly reluctant to accept the results of the [tests] because of the technique that has been applied."

If the RNA was degraded, results might not be reliable, he said.