Convicted wife killer Eddie Gilfoyle launches new legal action

Mr Gilfoyle was released on parole in 2010 after serving 18 years

A man who spent 18 years in jail for the murder of his wife has begun a new legal action in a bid to overturn his conviction.

Eddie Gilfoyle was convicted in 1993 of killing his heavily pregnant wife Paula and faking her suicide.

His lawyer told a court "fresh evidence" from Mrs Gilfoyle's diaries and papers reveal "she had previously attempted to take her own life".

Mr Gilfoyle, who is now in his 50s, was released on parole in 2010.

Mrs Gilfoyle was eight-and-a-half months pregnant when she was found hanging in the garage of the couple's home at Upton, Wirral, on 4 June 1992.

'Morbid obsession'

Mr Gilfoyle has always insisted he is innocent and wants the Court of Appeal to reconsider the "safety" of his conviction.

Ben Emmerson QC told two judges at the High Court in London that "fresh evidence derived from Paula Gilfoyle's personal diaries and papers revealed that she had previously attempted to take her own life".

He said: "It also revealed clear indicators that she had a propensity for morbid obsession with murder and suicide."

Paula Gilfoyle was aged 32 when she was found hanging in the garage of the couple's home in 1992

"This material had, and has, the capacity to provide an important counter-weight to the evidence of her positive disposition that was called at trial."

Mr Gilfoyle's case was previously referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), an independent body which investigates possible miscarriages of justice, but in 2000 three leading judges ruled that his conviction was safe.

Last year, the CCRC declined to refer his case back to the Court of Appeal for a further review.

Mr Gilfoyle is now seeking a judicial review of that decision, arguing its reasoning was "fundamentally misguided in a number of critical respects".

A decision on Mr Gilfoyle's application will be given at a future date as the judges adjourned the proceedings for submissions to be provided in writing by the CCRC.