The daughter of convicted murderer Susan Neill-Fraser has asked for anyone who has information about what happened to Bob Chappell to come forward in the wake of Neill-Fraser successfully gaining a second and final appeal against her conviction.
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Neill-Fraser's appeal will be conducted before the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Neill-Fraser's daughter Sarah Bowles said Australia should not be satisfied with the way justice has unfolded in this case and called upon the community to act.
"[Anybody] who has further information, or can impact change, and release an innocent woman, and allow this miscarriage of justice to finally be resolved," Ms Bowles said.
Neill-Fraser has served nine years of a 23 years' sentence for the murder of her partner Mr Chappell who disappeared on Australia Day, 2009.
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Mr Chappell disappeared from a yacht he owned with Neill-Fraser, the Four Winds, which was moored in the Hobart suburb of Sandy Bay.
Justice Michael Brett handed down his decision to grant the appeal to a packed court room at the Supreme Court in Hobart on Thursday.
The court was silent when Justice Brett announced his decision and Neill-Fraser turned to her family, sitting to her left, and said "yes."
Justice Brett addressed the court for almost an hour while reading his reasons for judgment.
"I am satisfied that the applicant has a reasonable case to present to the court in support on the ground of the appeal, and that is is in the interests of justice for leave to be granted," Justice Brett said.
Ms Bowles said her family was extremely grateful for Justice Brett's decision, however, the granting of the appeal is just the first step on a long journey for Neill-Fraser and her family.
"We believe we now know what happened to Bob, but yet Mum stays in a prison cell," Ms Bowles said.
"She's an innocent woman and it is time she came home and was with her grandchildren for cuddles.
"I want my mum back - it's time.
"We need to do better because no other family should go through what we're going through ever again."
The secretary of the Neill-Fraser support group Rosie Crompton-Crook was "very pleased" with the decision.
"Over the years I have lost count of the number of women who have come up to us at countless vigils and openly said they were in prison with Susan and how she had turned their lives around," Ms Crompton-Crook said.
"It's extraordinary.
"I've never met her and we are accused of being a support group of just family and friends who are well-heeled.
"A lot of us are not we just want to see her free."
Ms Crompton-Crook said it was the first time in 10 years that there was hope in the long quest for justice.
"We remain deeply concerned for Sue's well-being," she said.
"An innocent woman remains in prison. Her case has highlighted the parlous state of the justice system in Tasmania - how much longer will she have to remain incarcerated while antiquated legal procedures unfold?"
Neill-Fraser's former husband Brett Meeker also was buoyed by the decision but bitter she was not free.
"The decision is akin to some validation but I have never had any doubts," Mr Meeker said.
"The saddest thing is the legal system makes no sense.
"The police conduct has been unconscionable."
Assistant Police Commissioner Richard Cowling said Tasmania Police supported the legal process and was confident in the "integrity and thoroughness" of their investigations.
"Police reinterviewed Ms Vass earlier this month after 60 Minutes' promotional material suggested a new version of events," Mr Cowling said.
"Further evidence associated with that interview will be provided to the Director of Public Prosecutions."
Fiona Peate, friend of both Neill-Fraser and Bob Chappell, said she believed Neill Fraser was innocent.
"It's not possible she could have done this," Ms Peate said.
"What she's been through is beyond the pale."
'Fresh and compelling' evidence
Neill-Fraser's appeal bid win is a landmark case in Tasmania, being the first to go to appeal under new state legislation introduced in 2015.
Under the new legislation, Neill-Fraser had to prove "fresh and compelling" evidence in order to be granted a second appeal against her conviction.
Justice Brett said a variety of evidence provided out of court by key witness Meaghan Vass constituted the evidence for the purpose of the ground of the appeal.
At the time of Mr Chappell's disappearance, Ms Vass was 15-years-old and homeless.
A significant amount of Ms Vass' DNA was found on the Four Winds.
Previously, Ms Vass provided contradictory evidence regarding the events of the night Mr Chappell disappeared.
In April 2016, Ms Vass signed an affidavit in which she stated she was on the yacht and Neill-Fraser was not, however, later told the court she was threatened and forced to make the affidavit.
"In evidence before me, Ms Vass denied ever having been on the Four Winds on Australia Day, or at any other time, and could provide no explanation as to how DNA matching hers was found on the yacht," Justice Brett said.
The final witness in Neill-Fraser's appeal bid, former Victoria Police detective Colin McLaren, told the court during a phone call with Ms Vass she told him she was on the yacht and saw a fight.
The new evidence cited by Justice Brett to grant Neill-Fraser's appeal includes a new affidavit sworn by Ms Vass in February this year.
"After reserving my decision in this application, the applicant applied to reopen her case for the purpose of presentation of some further evidence," Justice Brett said.
The court was made aware of this affidavit through an episode of the television program 60 Minutes on which Ms Vass was interviewed.
The segment was not aired in Tasmania and Justice Brett said he did not view the program.
The new affidavit sworn by Ms Vass was provided to Justice Brett for consideration.
"The affidavit contains direct and detailed admissions of Ms Vass' involvement in events abroad the Four Winds on the relevant night," Justice Brett said.
"In particular, Ms Vass states that she was present on the yacht then with two identified male companions.
"She witnessed at least one of the males assault Mr Chappell.
"She recalls seeing a lot of blood.
"The affidavit does not directly address what became of Mr Chappell.
"Ms Vass claims that she cannot recall leaving the yacht or what happened after the assault."
Justice Brett said there was no question the evidence was fresh, however, the Director of Public Prosecutions Daryl Coates argued in his submission Ms Vass' out of court representations were not reliable, and therefore not compelling.
"He points to Ms Vass' denial of the truth of her statutory declaration before me, and raises many other issues that in his submission affect reliability," Justice Brett said.
"He does not challenge that the evidence is substantial.
"At a new trial, Ms Vass would either give evidence consistent with the representations, or inconsistent with them."
Neill-Fraser's conviction
Neill-Fraser pleaded not guilty to the murder of Bob Chappell, however, was unanimously convicted guilty by a jury in 2010.
Mr Chappell disappeared during the afternoon or night of Australia Day, 2009.
Neill-Fraser said she last saw Mr Chappell when she left him on board their yacht on the afternoon of January 26.
The case against Neill-Fraser was entirely circumstantial.
Justice Brett said the case is property described as a "strands in the cable case," citing the substantial aspects in the case as:
- Evidence which suggested that Mr Chappell had met with foul play on the night in question, and had not disappeared accidentally
- Motive and opportunity
- A series of lies told by Neill-Fraser to police during the investigation
- The likelihood that the person responsible for Mr Chappell's disappearance had used the yacht's dingy to travel to the yacht on the relevant night, and evidence which linked Neill-Fraser to the use of the dingy that night, despite her denials in this regard
- Evidence which suggested the yacht had been tampered with on the relevant night by a person familiar with it
Justice Brett said at the trial it was argued on Neill-Fraser's behalf the evidence did not exclude, beyond reasonable doubt, the possibility that someone else was responsible for Mr Chappell's disappearance.
Neill-Fraser's defence put forward a number of possible theories about who may have been involved in Mr Chappell's disappearance including smugglers or burglars.
Justice Brett said it was not seriously argued by the defence that Mr Chappell had not met foul play.
