Aid for beheading case
Murderer wins appeal funding
A CONVICTED murderer who decapitated a pensioner, flung his head from a bridge and buried his headless body in a shallow bush grave in the state’s North-West will have his appeal funded by Legal Aid following a court order.
In May last year, Darren Ward Gale, 55, sacked controversial Sydney lawyer Mai Truong and hired local lawyers
Fabiano Cangelosi and Dinesh Loganathan to take on the task of his bid for a state-funded challenge to his murder conviction.
Gale previously confessed to beheading Noel Ingham and burying him in the bush at Dulverton.
However, he claims he only did so after the frail 58-yearold had already died by hitting his head on a fish tank.
In his initial, handwritten, notice of appeal filed in August 2019, Gale claimed he wasn’t defended adequately at trial, the prosecutor led witnesses and a jury member spoke to police.
In April, Mr Cangelosi applied for a court order directing that Legal Aid be provided, noting Gale met the requisite financial test.
He provided Justice Gregory Geason with written submissions advancing his argument. Legal Aid barrister Alan Hensley previously said Gale had applied for funding — and was refused — “solely on the basis of merit”.
He agreed Gale met the financial requirements, but Legal Aid was only provided if the case was “in the interests of justice” and had a “genuine prospect of success”.
Justice Geason ordered on Thursday that Legal Aid fund Gale’s appeal.
Mr Loganathan said the appeal team would seek to have Gale resentenced in line with a manslaughter charge.