Appeal hearing in Kerry Winter murder case adjourned

Dubai: The Dubai Court of Appeal on Sunday adjourned the Kerry Winter murder trial until August 8 to review the Civil Rights Prosecutor's memorandum.

The prosecutor submitted a memorandum to the court which, as per his request, instructed him to deliver a copy to the defence lawyer and postponed the hearing to give the defence counsel time to review the memorandum.

Audio: Kerry Winter appeal hearing adjourned

In May, the Dubai Court of First Instance sentenced British suspect M.A. to 15 years in prison followed by deportation after Presiding Judge Hamad Abdul Latif Abdul Jawad found him guilty of murdering his ex-girlfriend — 36-year-old South African Dubai resident Kerry Winter.

Earlier, the defendant's lawyer, Yousuf Hammad, had tried to convince the court that Winter was still alive, although she had been missing since August 20, 2008. M.A. had pleaded not guilty to charges of Winter's premeditated murder when he appeared in court in April 2009.

The prosecution claimed that M.A. assaulted Winter with a baseball bat at her house in Al Barsha, wrapped her body in a blanket, and put her in a bag with weights before dumping it in the sea. Winter's body has never been found despite a long search involving dozens of members of the public and an extensive Facebook campaign.