Prosecutors are set to review the ruling in a case that saw a woman accused of killing her partner nearly a decade ago cleared in court.

The Royal Gazette revealed last week how Norma Violet Dawson walked free after a manslaughter charge against her was dropped.

She was charged last month, nine years after her partner Leslie Hutton was found stabbed at his Devonshire home in 1997.

A statement from the Department of Public Prosecutions' office last night refused to rule out a possible appeal.

"The DPP is awaiting the written ruling from the Senior Magistrate," it stated. "Once it is received, we will review it."

Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner last week discharged the defendant and threw the case out, saying the delay in charging Mrs. Dawson had been too long for her to receive a fair trial.The 63-year-old Devonshire resident strongly denied the allegation, her lawyer Mark Pettingill said after the court hearing.