WIFE killer Nat Fraser was today facing more than 20 years behind bars after judges threw out his appeal.

Three judges sent Fraser back to jail after rejecting both grounds of his murder conviction appeal.

In a rare move, television cameras were in court to capture the moment when Fraser's hopes of freedom were dashed.

The Lord Justice Clerk Lord Gill told a packed courtroom that circumstantial evidence alone "constituted a compelling case against the appellant".

Fraser remained impassive as he was led down to the cells carrying a notebook to begin the remainder of his sentence.

The 49-year-old has spent less than four years in prison since he was found guilty in February 2003 of arranging a hitman to murder mother-of-two Arlene.

He was ordered to serve a minimum of 25 years in prison before he can apply for parole.

The Elgin fruit and vegetable wholesaler took his case to the appeal court at the end of last year in a bid to have the conviction overturned, claiming his murder trial had been unfair and that he had suffered a miscarriage of justice.

The Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh heard four weeks of legal arguments last year and the appeal judges delivered their written judgment today.

Fraser shook his head as Lord Gill told the court the appeal had been turned down.

His only option now would be to take his case to the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission if he can find a new way to contest his conviction.

Arlene, 33, disappeared from her home in Elgin, Moray, on April 28, 1998, and her body has never been found. Suspicion quickly fell on her estranged husband Fraser, who had attempted to strangle her just five weeks earlier.

He was convicted of arranging a hitman to murder her at the High Court in Edinburgh in January 2003.

At his appeal Fraser's defence team said the Crown had kept crucial evidence about Arlene's engagement, wedding and eternity rings from the defence throughout the trial.

They claimed the evidence was strong enough to cast doubt on Fraser's guilt, adding that they had also uncovered new evidence to back it up.

The Crown was forced to apologise for mistakes made but there was still "compelling evidence" pointing towards Fraser's guilt, prosecutor John Beckett QC argued.