Murder Conviction of Mark Dorling referred to Court of Appeal

              

The Criminal Cases Review Commission has referred the murder conviction of Mark Dorling to the Court of Appeal.

"Mr Dorling was tried at the Central Criminal Court in London in 2006 for the murder of Aaron Chapman. He pleaded not guilty but was convicted on 19th April and sentenced to life imprisonment with a tariff of 25 years.

Aaron Chapman, a former prison officer, was attacked with a knife at his Surrey home in December 2002.  The following day he died from multiple stab wounds.

Mr Dorling sought to appeal against his conviction but his appeal was dismissed. He applied to the Commission for a review of his conviction in March 2012.

Having considered the case in detail, the Commission has decided to refer Mr Dorling’s murder conviction to the Court of Appeal. The referral is based new information that has emerged since the trial, and on other evidence that was available at the time of the trial but that was not disclosed to the defence. The Commission considers that this material raises a real possibility that the Court of Appeal will now quash the conviction.

Mr Dorling is represented by Mr Maslen Merchant of Hadgkiss Hughes and Beale, 83 Alcester Road, Birmingham B13 8EB."

This press release was issued by Justin Hawkins, Head of Communication, Criminal Cases Review Commission, on 0121 232 0906 or e-mail.

30th October 2015