A killer who murdered his wife has been granted legal aid to fight for custody of her four children.
The man, known only as X, is serving a life sentence for the 'particularly horrible' murder of the children's mother and has refused to have a paternity test to prove he is their father.
Judges at the Court of Appeal upheld a decision that DNA collected from the murder scene could not be used to prove paternity, so the issue of his and his family's access to the children - aged between three and nine - will be decided without this evidence.
The case began when the local authority and children's legal guardian challenged the decision by Theresa May, the home secretary, and the police not to allow the DNA to be used to prove paternity, the Sunday Times reported.
The man is not named on any of the children's birth certificates.
Sir James Munby, president of the family division of the High Court, initially allowed the application and ruled that the DNA could be used to determine paternity.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2963709/Killer-murdered-wife-granted-legal-aid-worth-thousands-pounds-custody-battle-four-children.html#ixzz3ST4GPMeq
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