Murderer loses appeal for decapitation killing

CANBERRA - A man convicted of the murder of a teenager, who was stabbed 133 times, decapitated and had his head used as a bowling ball, will serve out his life jail term.

The High Court on Wednesday unanimously dismissed the appeal of Christopher Clark Jones, 24, ruling the case against him was overwhelming and there had been no substantial miscarriage of justice.

Jones' lawyer had argued that the trial judge was wrong to disallow hearsay evidence that co-defendant James Patrick Roughan, 28, was an especially violent person who was more likely to have committed the murder.

The court heard the two men attacked 17-year-old Morgan Shepherd after a drunken argument at Roughan's Brisbane home on March 29, 2005.

Shepherd was stabbed repeatedly and his head sawn off. Jones later told friends that Roughan used the severed head like a puppet and a bowling ball.

Shepherd's headless body was found in a shallow grave in bushland near Dayboro, north of Brisbane, in April 2005.

Police found a tomahawk, knife and saw stained with the victim's blood in Roughan's shed, as well as bloodstained clothing featuring Jones' DNA.

Both Jones and Roughan pleaded not guilty to murder with each blaming the other.

The jury found both guilty and they were sentenced to life in prison.

Both then appealed, with the Queensland Court of Appeal dismissing Jones' appeal but allowing Roughan a retrial. He was convicted.

Jones then turned to the High Court.

His lawyer argued the trial judge was wrong to refuse to allow the jury to hear evidence of allegations that Roughan, in circumstances unrelated to the death of Shepherd, had attempted to murder a friend by attacking him with a knife.

That evidence, it was submitted, was relevant to Jones' claim that Roughan was a violent man, of whom he was afraid, and thus more likely to have committed the murder.

The trial judge ruled the evidence to be hearsay and therefore not admissible.

The five High Court judges found that it was open to the Queensland Court of Appeal to conclude that the prosecution case against Jones was overwhelming.

- AAP