Homicide (Murder and Manslaughter)
3PB prides itself on its exceptionally strong team of Queen’s Counsel and experienced Junior Counsel who regularly appear in cases of murder, manslaughter and other cases involving death across the Western Circuit and nationally. Members of the team are instructed by both defence solicitors and the Crown Prosecution Service (including HQ and the Complex Casework Unit) and have enjoyed notable success in cases, including those involving diminished responsibility, loss of control, self defence, and post traumatic stress disorder. Many of the cases undertaken by the team attract national media coverage.
Members of the team have appeared in key Court of Appeal cases dealing with important aspects of murder and manslaughter from joint enterprise to the availability of partial defences to murder. The team also possess significant collective experience of homicides involving complex and highly specialised medical and pathological evidence, the deaths of young children and babies, and all aspects of gross negligence manslaughter.
Whatever the background to the case, members of the team provide strong, focussed advocacy in court together with first rate legal knowledge. Advice can be provided from the very earliest stages of a case. The team is committed to providing the highest level of service and representation in these demanding cases.
Recent notable cases include:
- R v Eke, involving the traumatic death of a toddler
- R v Adams, gross negligence manslaughter arising from extreme consensual sexual activity
- R v Hinz, murder of a 3 year old
- R v Brown , child murder and
- R v GS who pleaded guilty to infanticide following the death of her child at birth.
Our Crime Barristers...
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3PB Barristers' (3 Paper Buildings) criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson, led by Zafar Ali KC of 23ES Chambers, represented Edward Jones who was charged with assisting an offender and fraud. After a 12-week trial at Winchester Crown Court before the Recorder of Winchester HHJ Morris, Edward Jones was unanimously acquitted of both counts. Nick (pictured here) and Zafar were instructed by Philip McCann of Penfold & McPherson Solicitors. To contact Nick Robinson, or to instruct...
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Tom Horder (pictured here), who is co-head of 3PB's Tier 1 Crime team of barristers, has just concluded two back-to-back murder trials, both of which resulted in the acquittal of his clients. The first murder trial involved the widely publicised prosecution of the former Mayor of Winchester for attempting to kill his terminally-ill, 92 year old mother. Whilst the pathology evidence showed no evidence of a deliberate malicious act, in calls to the Police and...
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3PB's Crime barrister Jodie Mittell acted for the Crown, led by Adam Vaitilingam KC, in a five-handed murder trial. The trial, at Winchester Crown Court, lasted eight weeks and concluded earlier this month with the jury unanimously convicting three defendants of murder and the other two of manslaughter. Two further defendants had already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob. The Crown's case was that the seven men had together planned a robbery. The five trial...
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3PB's crime and regulatory barrister Nicholas Cotter (pictured here), led by Mark Wyeth KC, has just completed a three-month trial at the Central Criminal Court in which his client was acquitted of conspiracy to murder The client was alleged to be involved in a gangland shooting in a nightclub, which was indicted at the outset as a conspiracy to murder. Following trial, the client was found guilty of a firearms offence but acquitted of all...
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3PB's criminal defence barrister Nick Robinson's client AO was charged with Attempted Murder following an altercation in which he stabbed a fellow Afghan national twice. At the time AO was aged 17 years, and suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder due to his experiences in Afghanistan. The case had international ramifications as the defendant, who had been trafficked to the UK, fled to Europe after the offence, and was arrested and interviewed in Salzburg before being...
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Following a trial lasting some 19 days in May 2022 Draven Jewell was convicted of Manslaughter, Section 18 Wounding with intent and Section 20 Wounding resulting from a short, but violent, incident involving a large kitchen knife outside of the Royal British Legion in Lymington. Instructed for the prosecution throughout the case Jonathan Underhill (pictured here), initially led by Adam Feest KC, undertook a sentencing hearing complicated by a significant delay to allow for medical...
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3PB is delighted to welcome leading criminal law barrister Kate Lumsdon KC (pictured here) as a door tenant. Joint Head of Chambers at 23ES, Kate was called to the Bar in 1993. She practised exclusively on the Western Circuit at 2KBW until moving to 23 Essex Street in 2010. Prior to taking Silk in 2018, she was a Grade 4 prosecutor on both the Western and South Eastern Circuit, and defended across the country. Rated...
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3PB's Adam Feest QC (pictured here), who heads the national barristers' chambers 33-strong criminal law team, successfully prosecuted Tom Schreiber for the murder of Sir Richard Sutton and attempted murder of his partner and the mother of the defendant, Anne Schreiber. The case, which was heard in Winchester Crown Court, attracted significant media interest - including the Times and BBC - followed the son's attack on the couple at Moorhill, Sir Richard Sutton’s mansion near Gillingham...
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3PB Barristers has welcomed top Silk Kevin McCallum QC (Scot), pictured here, a former criminal defence solicitor and a Procurator Fiscal Depute in Scotland - who specialises in criminal defence work, fatal accident inquiries and inquests - to the national chambers. He will work from its Inner Temple offices in London. Appointed as a Senior Advocate Depute in November 2006; Kevin was responsible for the preparation and conduct of a significant number of intensive, large...
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3PB’s Tom Horder, led by Andrew Langdon QC, defended Shane Mays both at trial and in the Court of Appeal. Mr Mays was convicted of the murder of 15-year-old Louise Smith who went missing from her home in Havant on VE day last year. His sentence of life with a minimum term of 25 years was appealed by the Attorney-General on the grounds that it was ‘unduly lenient’. On 5 February 2021 the Court of Appeal...
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Victoria Sheppard-Jones, a specialist in financial crime and regulatory investigations, prosecutions and enforcement in the financial services and healthcare sectors, has joined national chambers 3PB Barristers from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). She has been working at the FCA on an investigation into the Anti Money Laundering and Compliance framework of a large bank. This follows two years as a complex casework lawyer at the Court of Appeal's Criminal Division. Prior to this, Victoria was...
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3PB specialist criminal law barristers Jo Martin QC and Jane Rowley (pictured) successfully defended former Dorset Police Officer charged with murder. The jury took less than 3 hours to acquit Timothy Brehmer of murder after a trial at Salisbury Crown Court lasting 12 days. The Defendant had entered a guilty plea to manslaughter at a plea and trial preparation hearing in July of this year. The Prosecution had rejected his plea and sought a trial...
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