Robert Farquharson’s car plunged into a dam at Winchelsea in southern Victoria on Father’s Day 2005. Photo / Getty Images
A father convicted of murdering his three young sons is preparing a fresh legal appeal.
Robert Farquharson’s car plunged into a dam at Winchelsea in southern Victoria on Father’s Day 2005.
He swam free but his three sons Jai, 10, Tyler, 7 and two-year-old Bailey drowned.
Farquharson had separated from the boys’ mother and was returning home from an access visit at the time of their deaths.
He was found guilty of their murder in 2007 before his conviction was quashed on appeal in December 2009.
He was again found guilty in 2010 and sentenced to life with a minimum of 33 years, with a further two appeals later rejected.
Farquharson will base his latest appeal bid, scheduled for later this year, on Victorian laws introduced in 2019 that relate to new evidence that there has been a miscarriage of justice, his lawyer Luke McMahon confirmed with AAP.
McMahon said he intended to file the appeal in the coming months and had the evidence he believed would satisfy the standard.
Farquharson’s lawyers were considering research showing how cars sank in deep water.
McMahon said his client stood by his story of what up led to the children’s deaths.
Farquharson has always maintained his innocence and two doctors diagnosed him with cough syncope, a condition that causes a person to pass out after a coughing fit.
That was contested by the prosecution and another medical expert who gave evidence in court.
The mother of the boys, Cindy Gambino-Moules, died in May 2022 after a medical episode at her home.
In January, Department of Health secretary Euan Wallace stripped Farquharson of rights over his children’s graves.
The nomination was controversial owing to allegations by the House Ethics Committee.