A woman accused of stalking her neighbours for more than a decade has won a retrial and had her convictions quashed by Queensland’s Court of Appeal.
Vivienne Mary Glover was jailed for three years in November last year – to be released in February 2023 on parole – after a jury found her guilty on two counts of stalking.
But less than six months into her sentence the 71-year-old successfully appealed her convictions.
During her trial, the crown coxjmtzywntended Ms Glover stalked a husband and wife living near her Noosaville property between November 30, 2008 and July 31, 2019.
One of the victims alleged Ms Glover photographed and recorded them, yelled abuse, made threats and threw items over the adjoining fence.
It was also alleged she made false complaints to police claiming the pair were involved in criminal conduct like drug trafficking and rape.
Justices Philip Morrison, Margaret McMurdo and David Boddice said the man’s evidence “identified specific instances” with periods where no such conduct was being perpetrated by Ms Glover.
In her appeal Ms Glover claimed the particulars of her charges were “latently duplicitous” as they identified some conduct of varying types, frequency and intensity that could not be called stalking.
She claimed it would have been “impossible” for the jury to know which acts were proven and when, along with the detriment suffered by the complainants.
Ms Glover further submitted the judge “misdirected” the jury on part of the criminal code concerning Ms Glover obtaining information by “observing or watching the complainants”.
The Court of Appeal on Tuesday quashed her convictions and ordered a retrial on both counts.
In their judgment, the appeal judges said the sentencing judge failed to convey to the jury they had to be satisfied some of the alleged acts constituted a “continuous course of conduct” to prove her guilt.
“More generally, they were able to convict by being unanimously of the view that certain acts occurred over this period of 10-and-a-half years, although sporadically and not continuously,” the judgment reads.
“The particular facts upon which the jury were agreed are unknown.”
The appeal judges said the failure to identify the relevant parts of the evidence meant Ms Glover was “denied a fair chance of acquittal, such there was a miscarriage of justice”.
