Attorney General Elliott Mottley "may have acted too hastily'' in charging Kirk Mundy with being an accessory after the fact in the murder of Canadian teenager Rebecca Middleton, the Court of Appeal said yesterday.

Full reasons for the three appeal judges refusing to allow Mundy to be charged jointly in Ms Middleton's 1996 murder were revealed yesterday, two months after the decision was announced.

Mundy agreed to testify against accused murderer Justis Smith and was charged with being an accessory after the fact.

The accused pleaded guilty to that charge in October, 1996, and was sentenced to five years in prison.

Yesterday the three judges -- headed by President of the Court of Appeal Sir James Astwood, said: "We can understand their desire to have the appellant testify against the accused.'' But they added: "We are satisfied that an accused cannot be convicted for murder and also as an accessory after the fact.

"If charged on an indictment containing both counts, the jury could only return a verdict on one of the two counts, being alternative counts.

"A conviction for murder would be inconsistent with a conviction as an accessory after the fact.

"It may be that the Attorney General acted to hastily in charging the appellant with the offence of being an accessory after the fact.'' Mr. Mottley has already signalled his intention to take the Court of Appeal decision to Bermuda's final court of appeal, the Privy Council in London.

He said at the end of March that the appeal would be lodged as soon as possible.

It could take months before the appeal is heard -- and the case may even run into 1999.

The case went to the Court of Appeal after Supreme Court Chief Justice Austin Ward allowed a voluntary bill to indict Mundy on a murder charge.

Earlier, Puisne Judge Richard Ground quashed a bid by Mundy's QC, Saul Froomkin, to prohibit the Attorney General from charging Mundy jointly with Smith for the murder.

Mr. Justice Ground ruled that to proceed was not an abuse of process and that Mundy would receive a fair trial.

Solicitor General William Pearce QC claimed that Mundy had lied about the events.

He added that new evidence -- which cannot be reported for legal reasons -- had also come to light in the case.

Ms Middleton, who was visiting the Island, was found stabbed to death on Ferry Reach in St. George's nearly two years ago.

Mundy -- who was not present in the Court of Appeal yesterday -- is serving five years on the charge of being an accessory, as well as a 16-year stretch for unrelated offences.

The judgement added: "In considering the issue of inconsistent verdicts, the judge below confined his analysis to the situation as to whether there would an inconsistency between the finding of guilt on the later charge and an acquittal on the earlier one.

"He ought also to have considered the position as it existed in the present case as to whether the appellant having been convicted for the offence of accessory after the fact, there would be an inconsistency on a conviction for murder.'' The judgement said: "Having failed to do so, we find that he was in error in exercising his discretion to allow the proceedings to continue.

"In the particular circumstances of this case, we find that it would be unfair to the appellant to allow the Attorney General to proceed with the charge of murder.'' Kirk Mundy COURT OF APPEALS COA