Man accused of wife's cold-case murder granted bail
Updated . First published at
A man accused of murdering his wife more than three decades ago has been granted bail.
Craig Freeman, 63, was remanded into custody on November 5 after he was charged over Melinda Freeman's death.
Freeman was found dead in her Whittlesea home, in Melbourne's outer north, on October 4, 1991.
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Freeman was found dead in her Whittlesea home, in Melbourne's outer north, on October 4, 1991. Supplied
Freeman claimed he had returned to the house with his son about 11.30pm to find it ransacked and the front door open.
His wife's dead body was lying on the landing on the top storey of the house.
Freeman applied for bail in the Victorian Supreme Court today, which was unopposed by prosecutors.
His barrister David Hallowes SC argued his client was a 63-year-old man with no prior or subsequent convictions.
Freeman claimed he had returned to the house with his son about 11.30pm to find it ransacked and the front door open. Mark Wilson
Freeman also had been a suspect in the case since at least 1993 and yet he had never tried to flee the country, Hallowes said.
Justice Michael Croucher agreed the circumstances were exceptional as he granted Freeman bail.
He imposed a number of bail conditions, including a $500,000 surety from Freeman's current wife.
Freeman will walk from the Supreme Court later today.
National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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