Thomas Acworth’s client acquitted of aiding murderer after three month trial

27th January 2023

3PB's crime barrister Thomas AcworthThomas AcworthCall: 2014, pictured here, led Laura Hollingbery of 2 KBW in the defence of AM, a vulnerable 18-year-old, in a lengthy murder trial heard before Mr. Justice Martin Spencer at Winchester Crown Court. Thomas was instructed by Kate Harrington of law firm Penfold & McPherson.

The trial concerned the killing of Frantisek Olah, a 31-year-old father of two, who was stabbed over 20 times at his home address in Basingstoke. AM was accused of hiding one of the weapons used to murder Mr. Olah, a zombie knife that was 67cm in length, in the immediate aftermath of the killing.

When summing up, Mr. Justice Martin Spencer told the jury that they ‘might feel that there was some force’ in the points Thomas made in his closing speech. AM was unanimously acquitted.

The trial attracted widespread attention in the national press, including the BBC and Daily Mail.

To contact Thomas, please email him on [email protected]. To instruct him, please contact his clerk Stuart Pringle on [email protected] or by calling him on 01962 868884.