Chris Falconer to appeal murder conviction in Amber Kirwan case: Crown

Christopher Alexander Falconer, convicted in the death of Amber Kirwan, arrives at Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Pictou on Jan. 10, 2014. (CTV Atlantic)

HALIFAX -- The Crown says Christopher Alexander Falconer is appealing his first-degree murder conviction in the death of Amber Kirwan.

Crown attorney Patrick Young says Falconer has filed a prisoner appeal against conviction, but he had not seen his reasons for doing so.

Young, who was co-counsel in the prosecution, says he's not surprised Falconer is appealing the decision since he is serving a life sentence and has "nothing to lose."

Falconer, 31, was given an automatic sentence of life in prison with no parole eligibility for 25 years after he was convicted by a jury in January.

He pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder in the death of Kirwan, a 19-year-old woman who vanished after leaving a pool hall in New Glasgow on Oct. 9, 2011.

Her naked, bound remains were discovered in a clandestine grave about a month later in nearby Heathbell.

During the trial, Kirwan's boyfriend, Mason Campbell, testified that he was supposed to pick up Kirwan at a convenience store the night she went missing but she never arrived.

The province's chief medical examiner told the court that Kirwan bled to death after being stabbed at least 10 times, including once through her heart.

Dr. Matthew Bowes said Kirwan was able to mount a vigorous defence against her attacker, despite high levels of codeine in her system, leaving her with defensive wounds on her hands.

But Bowes said her body was too decomposed to determine when she died.

Falconer pleaded guilty in a separate case to second-degree murder as a teenager for strangling a cab driver in 1998. He was 15 at the time of that murder, but was ordered to stand trial as an adult. He was granted full parole after serving 12 years in prison.

Falconer was arrested in connection with Kirwan's murder in May 2012 at the Dorchester Institution in New Brunswick where he was serving time after pleading guilty to weapons and drug offences. His parole had been revoked that February.

His criminal record was not presented as evidence before the jury.