Blackburn, Ingvarsson, and a woman who was charged in the case have filed applications to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Composite image/mbl.is/Eythór
Three defendants in the so-called Gufunes case have filed applications for permission to appeal their convictions to the Supreme Court of Iceland.
Their defense attorneys confirmed the appeals to mbl.is.
The defendants seeking Supreme Court review are Stefán Blackburn, Lúkas Geir Ingvarsson, and a woman who was also charged in the case.
Blackburn, Ingvarsson, and Matthías Björn Erlingsson were charged with murder, deprivation of liberty, and robbery in connection with the death of Hjörleifur Haukur Guðmundsson on March 11 of last year.
Erlingsson, who received a 12-year prison sentence from the Court of Appeal, has decided not to appeal.
His attorney, Sævar Þór Jónsson, said the appellate ruling had been carefully reviewed from his client’s perspective.
“Taking all circumstances into account, it is his assessment that the outcome in the Court of Appeal was acceptable. Erlingsson will accept that result and will therefore not seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court. As far as his involvement is concerned, the case is now concluded.”
Case has been difficult for Erlingsson
Erlingsson’s sentence was reduced by the Court of Appeal after he had originally been sentenced to 14 years in prison by the district court.
According to his attorney, the case has been extremely difficult for Erlingsson and his family, and he now intends to focus on rebuilding his life.
Defendants seek review of Appellate Court reversal
On May 13, the Court of Appeal both reduced and increased certain sentences imposed by the South Iceland District Court.
Stefán Blackburn and Lúkas Geir Ingvarsson had each received 17-year prison sentences in the district court. The Court of Appeal slightly reduced their sentences to 16 years.
The woman charged in the case was the only defendant to receive a harsher outcome on appeal.
She had been charged as an accomplice to deprivation of liberty and robbery.
The Court of Appeal convicted her of complicity in the deprivation of liberty but acquitted her of complicity in the robbery charge. She received a six-month suspended prison sentence.
Her attorney, Jón Bjarni Kristjánsson, believes the appellate court’s reversal should be reviewed.
“It is necessary that this reversal by the Court of Appeal be subject to review. The judgment does not appear to withstand logical scrutiny.”
A fourth defendant, who had received a two-year suspended sentence in the district court, was fully acquitted by the Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court has not yet decided whether it will grant permission for the appeals, and it remains unclear whether Iceland’s highest court will hear the case.
