High court rejects murder appeal

The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from convicted murderer Douglas Leo Beamish.

Beamish was convicted in the 1994 murder of his common-law wife, Shirley Ann Duguay.

Her body was found in a shallow grave in the woods in western P.E.I. months after she disappeared. She had been beaten and strangled. Her hands were tied behind her back.

In 1996 Beamish was convicted and sentenced to life in prison with no eligibility for parole for 18 years.

The Supreme Court of Canada gave no reason for rejecting his appeal.

An earlier appeal to the Prince Edward Island Appeals Court was also rejected on grounds that the evidence against Beamish was so "overwhelmingly persuasive" that his conviction was the only logical verdict.