Killer's appeal adjourned by top judge (From Clacton and Frinton Gazette)

Killer's appeal adjourned by top judge

10:05am Thursday 7th February 2013 in News

AN appeal by a man serving life for the murder of a work colleague was dramatically halted after top judges learned of the killer's potential mental illness.

Darren Jewell, 37, gunned down 42-year-old roofer Anthony Prickett as he picked him up for work outside his St Osyth home in May 2011.

He was jailed for life at Chelmsford Crown Court in January last year, but is now challenging the guilty verdict in a Court of Appeal test case.

The court heard Jewell, of John St, Brightlingsea, had been transferred to a mental hospital and the country's top judge decided to adjourn the appeal pending a full assessment.

The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, said Jewell's recently discovered "psychotic" condition could impact on the way his appeal is argued.

The appeal revolves around the way trial judges handle the new "loss of control" defence to murder, which can result in a conviction for the lesser offence of manslaughter.

Jewell is currently at Rampton Secure Hospital, in Nottinghamshire, after being transferred from Belmarsh Prison.