Former royal aide loses murder conviction appeal
For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
The Duchess of York's former dresser Jane Andrews today lost her appeal against her conviction of murdering her lover.
The Court of Appeal in London refused to take account of fresh psychiatric evidence which, the defence claimed, showed that Andrews was suffering from a borderline personality disorder as a result of being sexually abused as a child.
Lawyers for Andrews, 36, had urged the court to order a retrial so that a new jury could hear the fresh evidence and decide whether she was in a state of diminished responsibility when she killed wealthy businessman Tommy Cressman and was therefore guilty of manslaughter, not murder.
There was no reaction from Andrews as three judges dismissed her appeal after one-and-half days of legal argument.
She simply stood, turned and walked through the door at the rear of the dock with a prison officer.
Andrews, a dresser and assistant to the Duchess of York for nine years until 1997, was jailed for life after being found guilty at the Old Bailey in May 2001 of murdering Mr Cressman, 39, at the house they shared in The Maltings, Fulham, west London.
The Crown's case was that, when she struck him on the head with his cricket bat and then stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife, she was acting in revenge after he said he would not marry her.
Andrews, who was on the run for four days, claimed it was an accident and that she acted in self-defence when Mr Cressman tried to rape her in the early hours of September 17, 2000.
The main ground of her appeal was based on evidence from psychiatrists who "unlocked" her childhood experiences during long therapy sessions.
She told them she was abused by her brother Mark between the ages of eight and 12.
Mark Andrews, a theatre producer, has always vehemently denied his sister's allegations.
As Andrews's parents, David and June, were ushered into a taxi, Mrs Andrews said: "I believe my daughter and I always will believe my daughter."
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Kickie, who led the murder investigation, said outside the court flanked by Tom Cressman's parents, Harry and Barbara: "This has been a traumatic time for the family. It has taken three years for this process to be completed and today, finally, there is some closure for them.
"Police have maintained from the very beginning that this was murder. The full facts of the case were aired at the Central Criminal Court in front of 12 jurors who did not believe Jane Andrews. And now, with this application to appeal against her conviction, the British judicial process has been exhausted."
The detective said he now hoped Andrews would accept the decision of the appeal judges and criminal trial and let the Cressman family get on with their lives.
Andrews's allegations of domestic violence and rape had been thoroughly investigated by the police and no evidence was found to support any of her claims, he said.
"For her to make such allegations to try and absolve herself of the responsibility for murdering Tom is unforgivable."
He said Tom Cressman's reputation remained intact.
"Nothing can bring Tom back, but this decision by the appeal court judges, which reflects the strength of the evidence, will I hope give the family some solace in their continuing grief."