Murderer loses appeal against life sentence

A man who murdered his wife's lover has had an appeal against his conviction thrown out.

Ian Anthony Anderson killed Neil Roberts in November 2011 after a row broke out at Anderson's Castletown home.

At his trial, the jury heard Mr Roberts had become aggressive and attacked Mr Anderson - and he'd retaliated.

Anderson's advocate Alan Gough claimed media coverage of the original case meant he could no longer have a fair trial if a retrial was ordered.

Anderson said he may have been convicted of manslaughter had the trial heard from his wife, who was the only eyewitness to the killing but didn't appear as a witness because she was told she could only give evidence against him.

He also said Deemster Montgomerie and his advocate had made mistakes during the trial which meant his conviction was unsafe.

Judge of Appeal Tattersall and Deemster Doyle, however, said they weren't convinced by his arguments and dismissed the appeal.

Anderson will serve the rest of his life sentence - with a minimum jail term of 15 years.