DNA validity at heart of Molseed appeal bid

THE Shaw man serving life for the murder of schoolgirl Lesley Molseed more than 30 years ago will appear in court later this month to challenge his conviction and sentence.

Ronald Castree (55) was found guilty in November last year of stabbing to death 11-year-old Lesley, from Rochdale.

The judge, Mr Justice Openshaw, handed down a life sentence with the recommendation that Castree serve a minimum of 30 years behind bars, adding: “Your past has now caught up with you.”

In May, Castree was granted leave to appeal only against his tariff.

But he has since reapplied for the right to challenge his conviction and judges will consider this application alongside the appeal against his sentence at Leeds Crown Court on July 29.

Riyaz Shaikh, the solicitor acting for Castree, said: “Our application is based on the validity of the DNA evidence.

“We are concerned that it may have deteriorated over the years and it may have been subject to cross contamination at the lab. We would be exploring whether the DNA could have been transferred to the deceased in a different set of circumstances.

“These are all avenues which we feel we need to explore.”

The jury at the Bradford trial was told Castree, who was then an administration clerk and part-time taxi driver, was on his way to visit his wife and new-born son in hospital when he snatched Lesley near her home in Delamere Road, Rochdale, in October, 1975.

Her body was found three days later on Rishworth Moor, above the A672 Oldham Road. She had been sexually assaulted and stabbed 12 times.

Tax clerk Stefan Kiszko, from Rochdale, was convicted of the murder, despite police knowing that he could not have committed the crime.

He served 16 years in prison before the Court of Appeal accepted that he had been receiving treatment for impotence in 1975 and so had been incapable of attacking Lesley.
Stefan died shortly after his release.