Appeal date for man convicted of wife's murder
An appeal date has been set for a father who was convicted of murdering his wife by throwing her down the stairs and smothering her to death at their home.
Alan Evans, from Kidderminster, is fighting to clear his name and have his conviction for killing his childhood sweetheart Louise overturned.
He has been backed by parents, sisters and brother, who have complete faith that he is innocent and have thanked people who have supported them.
His appeal will now be heard by three judges at the Court of Appeal in London on December 16.
The welder, who was 35 at the time, was jailed for a minimum of 17 years in 2013.
Mother-of-three Louise, who was 32 and a part-time carer, was found dead at the bottom of the stairs and the jury believed that Evans punched her and pushed her during a row about his affair with teaching assistant Amanda Chadwick.
The prosecution alleged that Evans must then have smothered Louise to death and placed a skipping rope under her dead body and a vacuum cleaner at the top of the stairs to stage her death as an accident.
But his defence was that he had never attacked his wife in the 18 years since they got together as teenage sweethearts and that her death must have been an accident. He also claimed to have slept during the incident, which happened on the night of July 10 2012.
Evans admitted he had an affair but maintained that he didn't kill his wife.
His family believe someone else may have committed the crime at the couple's home in Stoney Lane, Kidderminster.
There were claims an anonymous letter was sent to police before Evans was jailed, which alleged a man named 'Gareth' had confessed to killing Louise.
A Facebook group, I'm Backing Al, has been set up by campaigners who believe Evans is innocent. On the website, Evans' parents, Keith and Sue, have posted: "To all the amazing people who have given so much help and support to our son Al in his fight for justice.
"We have today heard that his case is to be heard by three judges at the court of appeal in London.
"Like yourselves we have always known Al is totally not guilty. Now we will prove it."
Following the guilty verdict in the trial Detective Inspector Dean Jones described Evans as a 'manipulative character who would do whatever it took to mislead the investigation'.
