Park House Pub Murderers Fail To Get Convictions Overturned On Appeal

A mother and son jailed for life for the murder of a father-of-two outside a Bedminster pub have failed to overturn their convictions on appeal.

Alan Riddock was brutally beaten to death by members of Diane Churchley's family on her orders outside the Park House pub in St John's Lane, in May 2008.

The 51-year-old mother, of St John's Lane, and her 24-year-old son, John Churchley, were both convicted of murder at Bristol Crown Court in April last year.

John Churchley's cousins Craig and Jason Hartrey were also convicted of murder, while his 20-year-old brother Liam was convicted of manslaughter.

Yesterday Diane and John Churchley challenged the safety of their convictions at the Court of Appeal in London.

But three senior judges rejected their applications, saying the case against them was "unarguable".

Last year's murder trial heard that drug dealer Diane Churchley had been involved in an argument with the former landlord of the pub, which was opposite her house.

During the row on May 24 41-year-old Mr Riddock, who had been drinking at the pub, dropped his trousers and exposed his buttocks at Diane Churchley.

She then told him, "You're dead" before calling up her sons and nephews, who armed themselves with baseball bats and a samurai sword and pulled on balaclavas before attacking Mr Riddock, of Hartcliffe.

He suffered severe head injuries in the ensuing attack and later died, while another man, Jonathan Stephens, suffered serious injuries as he tried to intervene.

At yesterday's hearing Elizabeth Marsh QC, representing Diane Churchley, argued that the trial judge's directions to the jury before it considered its verdict were inadequate and may have resulted in an "unsafe" conviction.

But Lord Justice Pitchford, sitting with Mr Justice Roderick Evans and Judge Michael Stokes QC, said the direction given was a "proper direction of law".

He added: "The jury could only find Diane Churchley guilty of murder if they were sure either that she called for really serious bodily harm to be caused with weapons or that she required some violence to be used and realised that really serious harm might be caused.

"In our judgment, there is no prospect whatever that this jury was misled in the test for murder in the case of Diane Churchley."