Overview
- Maurice Hawell and Andrew David had their convictions quashed and were ordered to face retrials in the NSW District Court.
- Marius Hawell was acquitted on all counts and is entitled to immediate release, subject to any other detention.
- The appeal was upheld by a panel including Justices Stephen Free, Peter Hamill and Belinda Rigg, who found legal errors in the original jury directions.
- The court noted the Crown’s reliance on a joint criminal enterprise theory where individual identification in a dark room was unclear.
- Further proceedings for Maurice Hawell and Andrew David are listed for December 12, following 2024 convictions and sentences of 14, 13 and 9 years respectively.