A WOMAN jailed for life for the murder of a prostitute who fell to her death from the 20th floor of a tower block had her conviction quashed by an appeal court yesterday.

Rose Broadley, 38, was originally found guilty of the murder of Joanna Colbeck after a trial at the High Court in Glasgow in March 2004.

She was accused of causing Ms Colbeck to fall from the window of a tower block in the Gorbals, Glasgow, in May 2002.

Ms Broadley's defence argued that Ms Colbeck, who was 28, had committed suicide and that Ms Broadley was in bed at the time.

However, the court heard had that Ms Broadley had previously carried out a series of assaults on the victim.

A jury convicted Ms Broadley, of Langside, Glasgow, and she was later sentenced to life, with a minimum of 15 years.

However, through her legal team, she lodged an appeal against both the conviction and sentence. In the appeal she claimed there was no "evidential basis" upon which a reasonable jury properly directed could have convicted her of murder.

She also argued there was no evidence that Ms Colbeck had indeed been murdered.

The judgment of the Appeal Court, delivered by Lord Johnston, stated that murder had not been proven.

The ruling said: "We are therefore satisfied that there was not sufficient evidence to put to the jury to entitle them to convict the appellant of murder.

"Recognising as we do that interpretation of statements or remarks by an accused person is a matter primarily for the jury, there are simply not enough surrounding circumstances in the present case against that background to form the base for sufficient evidence in law for the jury to consider even whether a murder was committed.

"The appeal is allowed and the conviction for murder will be quashed."