10:27AM, Fri Aug 3, 2012

Exclusive: Hammer Murderer Graeme Jarman Appeals Against Conviction

By Andy Hughes Location: Newcastle

A self-confessed psychopath jailed for murdering a frail pensioner with a hammer is appealing against his conviction.

Graeme Jarman beat 77-year-old Judith Richardson to death with a hammer at her home before stealing her handbag and selling her jewellery for just £300.

A jury found Jarman guilty of murder following a three-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court in July 2012.

But the 48-year-old lodged an appeal with the High Court in London on Monday, July 30, just hours before the deadline.

Jarman, being kept at Frankland High Security Prison in Durham, supplied a statement to Sky Tyne and Wear regarding his appeal.

He said: "I could never have had a fair trial because of the the tsunami of adverse media coverage before and during the trial."

Jarman was the focus of a countrywide manhunt after Miss Richardson was killed at her home in Hexham in August 2011.

As part of a press appeal, police circulated details about Jarman’s criminal history, which included convictions for kidnap and rape.

This allowed the press to legally publish this information, which would normally breach contempt of court laws.

Video: Sky reporter James Craggs talks through the key locations in the case

Many of the articles remained on the internet during the trial. Jarman says this meant he was not able to have a fair trial.

At the beginning of the three-week court case, the judge instructed the jury not to look at details of the case online.

Jarman’s solicitor Kevin Smallcombe, of Hannays Solicitors in South Shields, confirmed an appeal had been lodged.

Mr Smallcombe, who has represented some of the UK's most notorious criminals, said: “Mr Jarman has had an opportunity to reflect on the conviction, and has instructed us to lodge an appeal.

“That has been done and we are now awaiting a response.”

The trial heard how Jarman tricked the pensioner into opening her front door by showing her Age UK charity leaflets before inflicting more than 30 blows to her head.

Robert Smith QC, prosecuting, said it was not a random attack, and Jarman selected his victim the day before.

Miss Richardson’s handbag was found stuffed in a bin in Newcastle city centre hours after she was killed on August 19, 2011.

Video: CCTV footage of Jarman and reaction to guilty verdict

When two officers travelled to her home to return it, they found her body lying in a pool of blood.

The leaflets were found in the hall of her home after her death and Jarman's fingerprint was found on one of them.

A sample taken from a blood-stained tissue found in Miss Richardson’s home matched Jarman’s DNA.

Jarman, of Consett, County Durham, fled Hexham using public transport and sold jewellery on to a Newcastle shop hours later.

Jarman was arrested two weeks later in Filey, North Yorkshire, after police circulated his description and he was spotted in a library by a member of the public.

Justice Openshaw sentenced Jarman to life imprisonment and told him he must serve a minimum of 35 years behind bars.