The man convicted of murdering Nicholas Dill told his lawyer the dead man's girlfriend actually killed him — but the jury never heard this claim.

That was the allegation put to the Court of Appeal yesterday by Andre Hypolite's new lawyer, who wants his conviction quashed.

According to Toby Hedworth QC, the original lawyer Mark Pettingill ignored Hypolite's assertions that Stacy Pike, a woman with a previous manslaughter conviction for stabbing a man to death, was guilty in this case too.

He further argued that Mr. Pettingill denied Hypolite the chance to testify — against his wishes — and ruled out key defence evidence including a Police interview and psychiatric assessment of Ms Dill.

"Put simply, we submit that this man's case was never put to this jury," claimed Mr. Hedworth, who told the appeal justices Hypolite had a "complete defence to the charges he faced".

The 36-year-old was convicted last year of stabbing father-of-two Mr. Dill to death after a group sex and drugs session turned violent on Boxing Day 2004.

According to the prosecution, Ms Pike invited Hypolite back to the home she shared with Mr. Dill in Pearman's Hill, Warwick.

After the trio took crack cocaine, they performed various sex acts on one another.

It was said that Hypolite became enraged when Mr. Dill changed his mind about having sex with him and stabbed him twice in the back.

In addition to being convicted of murder, Hypolite was also convicted of causing grievous bodily harm to Ms Pike by cutting her head as she tried to defend herself and her boyfriend. He is appealing this too.

Yesterday, Mr. Hedworth read notes to Mr. Pettingill from Hypolite in which he claimed to have been attacked by Ms Pike and Mr. Dill who, he said, inflicted the injuries in question upon each other.

Mr. Hedworth said instead of putting this to the jury, Mr. Pettingill acted "in clear contravention of those unambiguous instructions" and instead based the defence on a claim that Mr. Dill died from a drug overdose rather than blood loss from his wounds. Not only was this a "tacit admission" that Hypolite inflicted those wounds, said Mr. Hedworth, but it flew in the face of prosecution evidence about blood at the scene and Mr. Dill's behaviour before the stabbing.

The jury should have been asked to consider "whodunit," but were never invited to do so, he argued.

Mr. Hedworth criticised Mr. Pettingill for getting a tape of Hypolite's first Police interview barred from consideration by the jury, despite it containing his defence as he saw it. He further claimed that the accused man should have given evidence, but was told at the last minute not to do so by Mr. Pettingill.

The lawyer failed to put a psychiatric report from the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute before the jury in full, despite a doctor labeling Ms Pike a manipulative individual who had a borderline personality disorder, according to Mr. Hedworth.

And, he claimed, Mr. Pettingill rejected Hypolite's request to have two female witnesses tell how Ms Pike had alleged that Mr. Dill was physically abusive.

Trial judge Carlisle Greaves also came under fire. Mr. Hedworth told the Court of Appeal he did not relate legal definitions given to the jury to the circumstances of the case — leaving them "utterly confused".

The appeal continues.