An Australian man found guilty of shoving New Zealander Andy Marshall to his death in West Australia has had his murder conviction quashed.
Stefan Pahia Schmidt, who pushed musician Mr Marshall before he fell to his death through a second-storey window at Cottesloe's Ocean Beach Hotel, will face a retrial after winning his appeal in a unanimous decision delivered by three judges of the Court of Appeal yesterday.
Mr Marshall's parents, Alan and Wendy, who live in Napier, told Hawke's Bay Today they received the news yesterday afternoon via a live AV (audio-visual) link to the Australian court.
Alan Marshall had flown to Perth in June this year for the appeal and said yesterday there was a pretty good indication then of how it would turn out.
"We were probably more shocked then than we are today. We are still disappointed by it, though, it brings back all the emotion and the heartache of it all," he said .