Mark Lundy at his wife Christine and daughter Amber's funeral. A family member says Lundy's behaviour at the funeral always counted against him.

Mark Lundy will not get a third trial, with the Supreme Court ruling he was properly convicted of murdering his wife and daughter.

But a family member maintains he is innocent of the crimes, saying the caricature of Lundy breaking down at his wife and daughter's funeral means he can never have a fair hearing.

The court delivered its judgment in Wellington on Friday, having heard his appeal in August, with Justice Mark O'Regan saying Lundy's appeal was dismissed because the country's highest court was satisfied he was guilty beyond all reasonable doubt.

He always denied murdering his wife Christine and their 7-year-old daughter Amber in August 2000.

READ MORE:

* Supreme Court reserves decision in Mark Lundy's final appeal

* Mark Lundy's final appeal under way in Supreme Court; lawyer seeks another trial

* Lundy a victim of 'junk science', lawyer says in bid for Supreme Court appeal

DAIVD UNWIN/Manawatu Standard Reaction from Palmerston North and Karamea Cres residents of the guilty verdict in the retrial of Mark Lundy. Video first published in 2015.

The pair were found dead in their Palmerston North home, Christine Lundy killed in her bed while Amber was struck down in the hallway outside her parents' bedroom. The murder weapon, believed to be a tomahawk, has never been found.

Mark Lundy was found guilty in 2002, but the Privy Council ordered in 2013 he should stand trial again.

He was again convicted after a 2015 retrial and the Court of Appeal ruled in 2018 the convictions were correct.

KEVIN STENT/STUFF Mark Lundy will stay in jail, with the Supreme Court ruling he was properly convicted of murdering his wife Christine and their 7-year-old daughter Amber in their Palmerston North home.

Stains on Mark Lundy's shirt containing central nervous system tissue and Christine Lundy's DNA were the key pieces of evidence in the case.

The Crown said the tissue, which only comes from the brain or spinal cord, proved Mark Lundy was the murderer.

Two tests were used on the stains, one finding it was the central nervous system tissue and the other finding the tissue was more likely than not to be human than animal.

The second test, known as mRNA testing, was found inadmissable by the Court of Appeal in 2018.

O'Regan said on Friday the mRNA made no real difference to the case.

SUPPLIED Mark Lundy murdered his wife Christine and their 7-year-old daughter Amber in their Palmerston North home in August 2000.

In a unanimous decision, the country's highest court found the combination of central nervous system tissue and Christine Lundy's DNA was enough to find him guilty.

The mRNA did counter Lundy's assertion that the tissue was from an animal, "but that defence had no prospect of success", O'Regan said.

Traces of blue and orange paint were found in the victims' wounds, and Lundy painted his tools the same colour.

Furthermore, Amber's blood was found on his shirt and the scene staged to look like a burglary gone wrong, O'Regan said.

The Supreme Court decision means Lundy will stay in jail until at least August 2022, when he will be considered for parole for the first time.

MATTHEW APPLEBY/STUFF Dave and Caryl Jones, pictured in 2013, still say Mark Lundy is an innocent man.

Someone needs to 'buy a Lotto ticket'

Dave and Caryl Jones, Lundy's brother-in-law and sister, have always supported the convicted killer.

They opened their home to him when he was given bail before his retrial and maintain he is innocent.

Dave Jones said the Supreme Court decision was expected, but disappointing all the same.

The Supreme Court failed to understand how the mRNA testing dominated the retrial, taking up more than a week of evidence and requiring a handout to the jury by the trial judge to ensure it was properly understood, he said.

Furthermore, the test used to find the material in the stains was brain or spinal cord – immunohistochemistry, or IHC – had never been used in a forensic setting after Lundy's case.

"It has always been about the IHC and that it is junk science manufactured... to come up with the outcome," Dave Jones said.

"He never got a fair go."

Even if the Supreme Court had accepted the appeal and given Lundy a third trial, he would not get a fair go due to the portrait created of him after the funeral of his wife and daughter, Dave Jones said.

The images of Lundy sobbing outside have repeatedly been used and analysed, with people saying he was putting on an act.

Dave Jones sat behind Lundy at the funeral and said Lundy was tired from being questioned by police, dealing with the emotions of losing his family and not sleeping.

His emotions were typical of members of his family, something outsiders may not be able to relate to. "It was a horrible funeral, it really was."

Dave Jones holds his own opinion about who the killer is – Stuff cannot publish that person's name for legal reasons – and blames police officers' myopic views for that person not being charged.

"They should go buy a Lotto ticket, as someone has got away with this for a long time."

Although Lundy could apply for a Royal prerogative of mercy, the chance of success was extremely low, Dave Jones said.

Lundy will be eligible for parole from August 2022, but had not done rehabilitation courses in prison because his risk factor was deemed too low.

The Parole Board usually wants inmates to complete rehabilitation courses before release.

"He has a place to live with us when he finally gets out," Dave Jones said.

ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Glenn Weggery is relieved at the Supreme Court's decision.

Decision 'lifts the mood'

​Christine Lundy's brother Glenn Weggery found the bodies.

He learned of the Supreme Court decision at 11.30am on Friday while he was driving a truck in Wellington.

"It's a far better Christmas present than we could have hoped for. It's never really going to be over for me. At least it's not going to be hanging over our head.

"It lifts the mood a bit."

Weggery said the scene that confronted him in August 2000 still haunted him.

"I'd be a bloody strange person if I wasn't [haunted by it]. It's something that'll never leave."

Leading up to the decision, Weggery said: "It was a case of hope for the best, expect the worst."

- Additional reporting Sam Kilmister