In a case handled "astonishingly" by the Crown, Bermuda's Chief Justice decided no new charges will be laid in the brutal 1996 rape, torture and stabbing death of Belleville teenager Rebecca Middleton.

Middleton's father, David, described by one of the family's lawyers as deeply "disappointed" in yesterday's decision, will continue his determined fight to see justice served.

"The appeal will be David Middleton saying, through his lawyers, `the Chief Justice got it wrong'," said John Riihiluoma, one of the lawyers representing the family in Bermuda. They will start filing an appeal that probably won't be heard until November.