CONVICTED double killer Danilo Restivo will appear at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday to fight his life-long prison sentence.

The 40-year-old was handed a whole life sentence last year after being found guilty of killing mum-of-two Heather Barnett at her flat in Capstone Road, Charminster.

Her body was discovered on November 12, 2002, by her two young children when they returned home from school.

She had been hit over the head with a hammer-type object and her body mutilated.

Strands of someone else’s cut hair were placed in one hand and strands of her own hair placed under the other.

During his trial the jury sitting at Winchester Crown Court heard of the “striking similarities” between Heather’s death and the murder of 17-year-old Italian schoolgirl Elisa Claps in Potenza, Italy, on September 12, 1993.

Following his conviction in England, Restivo was later convicted of Elisa’s murder and jailed for 30 years.

Elisa disappeared from her home town after attending a church service.

Her mummified remains were discovered in the roof of the church in March 2010.

Italian national Restivo will also hear whether he has been granted leave to appeal against his conviction.

A previous application in July was refused when two judges ruled the evidence against him was “overwhelming”.

Restivo’s lawyers had claimed that the prosecution being allowed to use evidence and bad character from Elisa’s murder was prejudicial.