unsuccessful in their attempt to overturn their convictions.

The Court of Appeal announced its decision yesterday after hearing appeals from Michael Brian Pitcher, 32, and 35-year-old Michael Dean Eberly on March 27 and 28.

Pitcher's lawyer Saul Froomkin argued there was no case to answer as there was no evidence proving which of the two men -- his client or Eberly -- beat Beatrice Simons in the back of her head while burgling her home.

Eberly's lawyer Mark Pettingill adopted Mr. Froomkin's submissions. But the court sided with Crown counsel Peter Eccles who said the two men were "a joint enterprise'' and it did not matter which one of them actually struck the fatal blow to the 69-year-old grandmother.

Mr. Froomkin also contended that Chief Justice Austin Ward misdirected the jury and wrongfully refused him cross-examination of witnesses about statements made by Eberly that were not used by the Crown.

He also complained that the Mr. Justice Ward unjustly refused that a special jury not try the case. The Appeals judges, however, disagreed on all counts.

"Having considered all the submissions of Mr. Froomkin, Mr. Pettingill and Mr. Eccles, we have concluded that the verdict of the jury was reasonable and is supported by the evidence,'' the Appeals judges said during judgment.

Pitcher and Eberly received life sentences for the murder of Ms Simons and eight-and-a-half-year sentences for burglarising her home.

They pleaded guilty to the burglary charges on arraignment and asked for leave to appeal the lengths of sentence and have the time they spent in custody before plea and sentence for the burglary to be taken into consideration when calculating their sentences.

The Appeals judges allowed the appeal and ordered the men's sentences for burglary to be recomputed, allowing for the time spent in custody between plea and sentence.