Life sentence for killer of ‘frail’ grandfather – BBC News
‘A man who beat his “frail and vulnerable” grandfather to death months after he stabbed two strangers has been jailed for life.’
BBC News, 17th July 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: diminished responsibility
Rhondda Cynon Taf: Schizophrenic detained for killing woman – BBC News
‘A schizophrenic who killed and then dismembered a woman at her home has been sentenced to an indefinite hospital order.’
BBC News, 29th April 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Matthew Selby given life sentence for killing sister – BBC News
‘A man who killed his 15-year-old sister in a caravan has had his sentence increased to life in prison.’
BBC News, 8th March 2023
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Birmingham stabbings: man given minimum 21-year prison sentence – The Guardian
‘A man diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia who killed a 23-year-old man and injured seven others in a violent stabbing spree in Birmingham last year has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 21 years.’
The Guardian, 18th November 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
David Fuller admits killing two women in 1987 – BBC News
‘A man admits killing two women in 1987, a court has heard.’
BBC News, 9th October 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Brown Clee Hill: Moses Christensen guilty of walker murder – BBC News
‘A man who “roamed around” a beauty spot looking for someone to kill has been found guilty of a walker’s murder.’
BBC News, 3rd March 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Harley Watson hit-and-run: Terence Glover admits manslaughter – BBC News
‘A man has admitted killing a 12-year-old boy in a hit-and-run near a school.’
BBC News, 30th November 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Stoffel & Co. v Grondona [2020] UKSC 42 – Hailsham Chambers
‘In Stoffel & Co. v Grondona, the Supreme Court considered the operation of the common law defence of illegality in the context of solicitors’ negligence for the first time since its seminal decision in Patel v Mirza [2017] AC 467. At the same time, the Court handed down judgment in a clinical negligence case: Henderson v Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust [2020] UKSC 43.’
Hailsham Chambers, 3rd November 2020
Source: www.hailshamchambers.com
Businessman jailed for killing support worker Belinda Rose – BBC News
‘A businessman who fatally stabbed a support worker in a “savage and brutal attack” has been jailed for 10 years.’
BBC News, 29th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Wife who beat husband to death with a hammer permitted to inherit his estate: Challen v Challen [2020] EWHC 1330 (Ch) – New Square Chambers
‘On 15 August 2010 Sally Challen beat her husband to death with a hammer, wrapped him in a curtain before washing the dishes and driving home. She was convicted of murder on 23 June 2011 and sentenced to life imprisonment, but last year that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. Before the retrial the Crown accepted a guilty plea to a lesser charge of Manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility, and Mrs Challen was released, having already served her sentence. The Forfeiture rule prevented her inheriting her husband’s estate or taking their joint assets by succession, and in September 2019 she issued proceedings under the Forfeiture Act 1982 for relief.’
New Square Chambers, June 2020
Source: www.newsquarechambers.co.uk
Coercive Control and the consequences of forfeiture – Challen v Challen [2020] EWHC 1330 – St John’s Chambers
‘Sally Challen’s case has become well known in recent years, as a miscarriage of justice that resulted in a woman spending years behind bars for an offence she did not commit. The facts were not in dispute. In August 2010 she had reconciled with Richard, her partner and husband of forty years, after previously leaving the matrimonial home and starting divorce proceedings. Over lunch, she beat him to death with a hammer. Subsequently dissuaded from committing suicide, she was convicted of his murder and sentenced to life imprisonment, with the prosecution describing her as jealous and possessive, and the jury rejecting her defence of diminished responsibility. In 2019 the Court of Appeal allowed her appeal, quashed her conviction, and directed a re-trial to reconsider the defences of diminished responsibility and provocation, in the light of new expert evidence about the effect of coercive control in a relationship. Richard had behaved appallingly towards Slly during their relationship. Finally in September 2019 the Crown accepted the plea that Sally Challen had offered throughout, that of guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. Edis J sentenced her to 9 years and 4 months imprisonment, with the effect that she was immediately released.’
St John's Chambers, 28th May 2020
Source: www.stjohnschambers.co.uk
Case Preview: Ecila Henderson (A Protected Party, by her litigation friend, The Official Solicitor) v Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust – UKSC Blog
‘The claimant had a long history of mental health difficulties arising from her diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia. Following a period spent in hospital detention, the claimant received outpatient psychiatric treatment. During this time, her condition deteriorated and she stabbed her mother to death while experiencing a serious psychotic episode. She was charged with murder and pleaded guilty to manslaughter by reason of diminished responsibility. An independent investigation found that failings by the Trust in her care and treatment meant that a serious incident of some kind was foreseeable based on her behaviour in previous psychotic episodes. The Trust admitted liability to the effect that the claimant’s mother would not have been killed but for its breaches of duty in failing to respond adequately to the claimant’s deterioration in mental health.’
UKSC Blog, 11th May 2020
Source: ukscblog.com
Justice system smeared our mother, say Sally Challen’s sons – The Guardian
‘Sally Challen was subjected to a false narrative by a criminal justice system that painted her as “a controlling and jealous lover who planned to kill her husband”, her son has said.’
The Guardian, 8th June 2019
Source: www.theguardian.com
Man found guilty of killing great-niece, 11, in ‘frenzied attack’ – The Guardian
‘A man who battered his 11-year-old great-niece to death with a table leg has been found guilty of manslaughter.’
The Guardian, 16th August 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Manslaughter: Definitive guideline – Sentencing Council
‘The new guideline will come into effect on 1 November 2018.’
Sentencing Council, 31st July 2018
Source: www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk
Inquest criticises police over London killing of Dutch academic – The Guardian
‘An inquest jury has criticised police failings over the killing of the academic Dr Jeroen Ensink, who was stabbed by a stranger suffering from psychosis as he posted cards announcing the birth of his daughter.’
The Guardian, 17th July 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Barbara Coombes sentenced to nine years for killing her father – The Guardian
‘A woman has been sentenced to nine years in prison after confessing to killing her father and burying his body in her back garden in Greater Manchester after a “lifetime of abuse” at his hands.’
The Guardian, 11th July 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Inquest into killing of London academic gets under way – The Guardian
‘The widow of academic Dr Jeroen Ensink, 41, who was stabbed to death as he posted cards to friends announcing the birth of his daughter, hopes questions will be answered at his inquest which begins on Monday.’
The Guardian, 2nd July 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Peter Pickering: ‘Beast of Wombwell’ guilty of 1972 rape – BBC News
‘A convicted child killer dubbed the Beast of Wombwell has been found guilty of raping of a woman just weeks before he raped and killed a schoolgirl.’
BBC News, 20th March 2018
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
