A jury at Birmingham Crown Court has convicted a 39-year-old man of murder after a complicated 11-day trial. Prosecuted by John Benson KC, H was found to have inflicted catastrophic head and chest injuries upon a visitor to his flat who ultimately succumbed to his injuries less than two weeks after the attack. With the only eyewitness uncooperative and the defence resisting hearsay applications, the defence also sought to leave the issue of loss of control to the jury, notwithstanding that this was not H’s defence.
After arguing that the eyewitness evidence should be adduced as part of the ‘res gestae’ and also under s116 (2) (d) of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (witness could not be found),’ John led the jury through significant amounts of complex forensic expert evidence relating to blood distribution, DNA, foot marks and pathology as well as audio evidence in the absence of defence agreement.
Sentencing will take place in December.
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