Peter Dupas who had been convicted of the death of Mersina Halvagis will seek a permanent stay of a new trial for the murder.

The Victorian Court of Appeal had thrown out his conviction last September, due to legal oversights ordering for a new trial to take place.

The High Court of Australia on Friday ordered that Dupas’ appeal for a permanent stay to be heard in April.

Dupas, 56 who was convicted of the murder in 2007, has asked for a permanent stay on the grounds that the media publicity before his trial rendered it impossible for him to receive a fair trial.

Mersina Halvagis was stabbed to death in 1998 while visiting her grandmother’s grave at Fawkner Cemetery.

According to a report in The Age, George Halvagis the father of Mersina, was present in the court today as the decision was handed down.

His reaction was to shake violently and bury his head in his hands.

In a Neos Kosmos report published on September 21 Mr Halvagis had expressed his frustration and devastation after the decision for a retrial. In a comment that in hindsight sounds prophetic Mr Halvagis had said:

“The only thing I know is that for the last 12 years we’ve been in a morass and who knows what’s going to happen now.”