Fresh charges cannot be considered against suspects in the Rebecca Middleton murder case, Chief Justice Richard Ground has ruled.

The slain Canadian teenager’s parents expressed disappointment with the decision, but are determined to fight on in the Appeal Court and potentially even the European Court of Justice.

However, Rebecca’s father, Dave Middleton, admitted yesterday that with a legal bill already nearing $100,000, the mammoth cost of taking the case that far could be prohibitive.

“I’m disappointed. I would have hoped it would have gone the other way of course, but I would say it’s not unexpected... someone told me a long time ago to get around this you have to get out of Bermuda,” he said.

“The cost just keeps going up. So far we are covering our bills (through fundraising by the Rebecca Middleton Foundation), but will we be able to continue to do that? I don’t know.