A man convicted of murdering pregnant schoolgirl Rhiana Moore today launched an appeal against both his conviction and sentence.

Ze Selassie, 34, was sentenced to 35 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole after he was convicted of the premeditated murder of the 14-year-old girl in 2008.

John Perry QC, representing Selassie, told the Appeal Court that there was no solid evidence to prove premeditation and Chief Justice Richard Ground failed to properly lay out any evidence for premeditation to the jury.

He also argued that the maximum tariff of time before parole should be only 25 years in a case of premeditated murder.

Crown counsel Cindy Clarke however defended the ruling, saying that a series of text messages between Selassie and his victim, along with the presence of a knife indicated premeditation.

For more in-depth reporting on this story see tomorrow’s Royal Gazette