An Adelaide prisoner who has spent more than a decade in jail for the execution-style murder of his uncle has launched a new bid for freedom after confessing to the crime by another man.
Daniel Troy Ames, 49, has exhausted all legal avenues to appeal his 2011 conviction for the fatal shooting of his 68-year-old uncle Allan Ames in his Cavan workshop in November 2009.
He will ask the Supreme Court for permission to appeal a confession by convicted drug dealer Peter Lagerwey on the basis of fresh and compelling new evidence.
The court documents reveal that detective Rod Huppatz, the investigating officer, admitted that Lagerwey was linked to the victim, and was not disclosed during his trial.
Lawyers for Ames have been provided with a statement by a witness who claimed Lagerwey confessed to the murder in 2016 two days before his death.
The documents state Lagerwey told his partner: I was the one who shot Danny's uncle. I am the one who murdered his uncle The documents show that the 30 year-old told another person he was involved in a murder and later disposed of the murder weapon.
Ames was sentenced in December 2011 to life in prison with a 24 year non-parole period.
He has served almost half of his parole period.
Ames had no clear motive to kill his uncle and Ames had no clear motive for his trial before the Supreme Court Justice David Peek.
Justice Peek convicted him of the crime, finding the most compelling evidence against him, namely that he lied to police about only visiting his uncle for 25 minutes that night.
Surveillance footage showed that Ames had attended his workshop between 9: 52 pm and midnight.
According to court documents, detective Huppatz took a statement from a witness in May 2011, which outlined several admissions Lagerwey made, including being in possession of a large amount of meth taken from Mr Ames's workshop.
The police running sheet doesn't summarise the discussion accurately, merely stating that the police received information that Lagerwey may have assisted Ames in some way by giving him the gun used in the murder or assisted disposing of it after, the documents state.
The appeal application states that the prosecution did not disclose the admissions to Ames and his legal team prior to trial.
The court documents state that Lagerwey's relationship to the victim and the evidence of his admitted involvement were not disclosed until 2021, as now revealed by the Huppatz statement.
The application to appeal states it can be inferred from the new evidence that Lagerwey entered the Cavan workshop after Ames left and murdered his uncle.
It is reliable, substantial and highly probative in the context of the central issue at trial, the identity of the killer, it reads.