Bail for woman who had murder conviction quashed
An accused killer who recently had a murder conviction quashed and is now awaiting an appearance before a fifth jury has been granted bail.
Katia Pyliotis, 38, is charged with murdering widower Elia Abdelmessih, whose bludgeoned body was found inside his Kew East home in 2005 alongside a dented tin of mangoes and a Virgin Mary statue.
Katia Pyliotis outside the Supreme Court in 2017.Credit:Vince Caligiuri
Prosecutors say Mr Abdelmessih, 69, was a regular customer at the McDonald's store where Ms Pyliotis worked at the time.
Ms Pyliotis was in 2018 found guilty of murder and jailed but the Court of Appeal in May quashed her conviction over comments the trial judge made to the jury.
That jury was the fourth one called for the case after three earlier trials all ended without a verdict.
The Court of Appeal in May ordered Ms Pyliotis face a retrial, which would be the fifth attempt at hearing the case.
The accused woman has been in custody since her 2016 arrest but is unlikely to face retrial until 2021. Jury trials are currently suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supreme Court Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth on Wednesday found the "irregular and protracted" history of the case and the significant delay Ms Pyliotis faced constituted exceptional circumstances for her to be granted bail despite her charge.
Prosecutors conceded the circumstances were exceptional and Ms Pyliotis was not an unacceptable risk to the community.
Ms Pyliotis' lawyers will in October apply for a permanent stay on the case.
Her 2018 trial heard another woman, Sue Reddie, admitted that she killed Mr Abdelmessih but that she later recanted her confession. Ms Reddie, who had a sexual relationship with Mr Abdelmessih, died of natural causes in 2012.
The Court of Appeal quashed Ms Pyliotis' conviction after it was critical of negative comments the trial judge, Justice Paul Coghlan, made over the defence argument that Ms Reddie was the killer, and that her lawyer's questioning of witnesses was "boring".
Justice Hollingworth granted the accused bail on a $100,000 surety and on conditions including she live with her sister, abide by a curfew and not leave Victoria.
Get our Morning & Evening Edition newsletters
The most important news, analysis and insights delivered to your inbox at the start and end of each day. Sign up to The Sydney Morning Herald’s newsletter here, to The Age’s newsletter here and Brisbane Times' here.