York estate agent Nicole Waterhouse's killer Jeremy Green fails to overturn murder conviction at appeal

Jeremy Green admitted murdering Nicole Waterhouse, 32, and attempting to murder her housemate Karen Browne, then 24, at their flat in York in October 2013.

The 32-year-old, of York, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 34 years at Leeds Crown Court in April 2014.

At a Court of Appeal hearing on Wednesday, Green’s lawyers argued his conviction was “unsafe” in light of fresh evidence that he was suffering from an “abnormality of mind” when he attacked the women.

Green was represented by top human rights barrister Michael Mansfield QC, whose past cases have included the Birmingham Six, Bloody Sunday and Hillsborough.

Mr Mansfield told the court that the ex-soldier had suffered brain damage after having a seizure as a result of heatstroke during an Army training exercise in Scotland in July 2010.

Mr Mansfield said an expert neuro-psychologist concluded in a recent report that Green’s abnormality of mind “had caused or was a significant contributing factor” in his offending and that he should therefore have been able to rely on a partial defence of diminished responsibility at trial.

But Green’s appeal bid was rejected by senior judges, who said his lawyers at the time of his trial decided against running such a defence in light of the fact he had acted “calmly and rationally” throughout the attacks.

Lord Justice Haddon-Cave, sitting with two other judges, said the details of Green’s crimes were “in some ways too terrible” to repeat.

The judge thanked relatives of Miss Waterhouse, who observed the hearing online, for attending and said he wished them all well.

Green, who had once been on dates with Miss Browne and first met both women at a dating event, stabbed them multiple times over a period of nearly nine hours - cutting their throats and smothering them.

Believing the women had gone out, he conned his way into their building and went to their flat with the intention of committing burglary, but decided to rob them when he found them in their bedrooms.

Miss Waterhouse, known as Nicki, had 65 different injuries, including a damaged spine, while Miss Browne almost died as a result of the attack.

Throughout the day Green sent messages to the women’s families using their phones to make them think nothing was wrong and posted on Facebook using Miss Waterhouse’s profile to stop friends trying to contact her.

After leaving the flat, believing his victims were either dead or dying, he took out £750 using their bank cards which he had stolen and went shopping for food.

Green was an officer with the Yorkshire Regiment but was dismissed from the Army after being court martialled for stealing from other officers.