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David Eastman found not guilty of 1989 murder

David Eastman, who spent nearly 20 years in jail over the killing one of the country’s top police officers, has been found not guilty of the murder after a retrial.

A jury determined Mr Eastman did not murder senior Australian Federal Police officer Colin Winchester nearly three decades ago.

The not-guilty verdict in the ACT Supreme Court marked the end of a six-month trial and nearly a week of deliberating.

Mr Eastman spent 19 years in jail after a first trial found him guilty of shooting Mr Winchester as he got out of his car near his house in 1989.

But a 2014 inquiry found flaws in the original forensic original evidence had lead to a miscarriage of justice, causing Mr Eastman to be tried a second time.

The ACT Government had invested millions in proceedings against Mr Eastman, allocating dedicated funding in recent territory budgets.

Taxpayers forked out $6.5 million for this year’s re-trial.

In the past decade, additional legal proceedings surrounding the trial cost upwards of $30m.

More to come.

-ABC

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