A lawyer today demanded that the magistrate hearing committal proceedings
against the man accused of an Australian hostel blaze which killed 15 - including an Irish student - disqualify himself from the case.
State-funded defence lawyer Mr Craig Chowdhury asked Mr Michael Halliday to step aside after the Brisbane magistrate expressed sympathy to victims' families.
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Robert Paul Long |
When Mr Halliday refused, Mr Chowdhury took his application to Queensland state's Supreme Court, which was expected to rule tomorrow.
The maneuvering came on the first day of a committal hearing for Mr Robert Paul Long (37) on charges of arson and murdering 22-year-old West Australian twins Kelly June and Stacey Louise Slarke.
The twins were among 15 backpackers who died in a June 23 inferno at the Palace Backpackers Hostel in Childers, a town of 1,500 people 195 miles north of Queensland state capital Brisbane.
Ms Julie O'Keeffe, a 24-year-old student from Bray in Co Wicklow was also among those that were killed.
The hearing, at which prosecutors will present a summary of their evidence against Long, is expected to last up to two weeks. At the end of the hearing, Mr Halliday must decide whether there is enough evidence to proceed to trial.
Mr Long, who was not required to enter a plea, faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted at trial.
Six backpackers from Britain, four from Australia, two from the Netherlands and one each from Ireland, South Korea and Japan were killed in the blaze.
Mr Long is also charged with unlawfully wounding and attempting to kill a police officer during his arrest in a small town close to Childers, after a five-day police manhunt.
Mr Long, with a long beard and collar-length hair, showed little emotion as he sat in court wearing navy trousers and a yellow shirt.
His elderly parents sat in the back of the court during the proceedings.
PA