Following a complex and unusual trial, Oliver Woolhouse, leading Kellie Evever, secured convictions against four defendants following the death of an Oxford man in April 2022 after an unprovoked and prolonged assault.
Instructed by Thames Chiltern CPS and working with Thames Valley Major Crimes Unit, they presented evidence of the man’s death within hours of him being seriously assaulted by a teenage girl, whose family then made extensive and co-ordinated efforts to evade the arrests of the girl and her boyfriend who was present and believed to have been involved in the attack before their eventual arrest on suspicion of murder on day three. A post-mortem ultimately revealed that the man had died as a result of his existing health complications and not the assault.
Following two separate trials at Oxford Crown Court lasting a total of nine weeks, four defendants were convicted of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice, with the teenage girl also convicted of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Custodial sentences were imposed upon all, immediate for the adult offenders, and suspended for the younger two. A fifth defendant. although found to have conspired together with the others, was found unfit to stand trial by virtue of a condition untreatable under the Mental Health Act, so the only disposal available to court in her case was one of absolute discharge.
Oliver and Kellie both prosecute and defend serious crime. To instruct them, please contact our criminal clerking team via crime@cornwallstreet.co.uk.