[Manchester CC]:
R was extradited from Spain and charged with conspiracy to murder and cause GBH. The charges related to an ongoing feud between rival gangs in Manchester. Both sides used significant and, at times, lethal violence, which included the use of machine guns, hand grenades and pistols. The jury returned a unanimous not guilty verdict to all charges.
[Birmingham CC]:
C was convicted of her mother’s murder (or was it manslaughter). The decomposing body of C’s mother was found in their home after the police received complaints from neighbours about the smell coming from the property. The victim sustained fatal injuries after being attacked with an axe. The body was covered with a dressing gown and was left for around seven days. When they broke in, the police found C reading a book upstairs. C had bipolar disorder and we successfully argued that a hospital order should be made.
[Birmingham CC]:
K was charged with murder. It was alleged that she set fire to property which resulted in the death of a visitor to the premises after her husband left her to move in with his girlfriend.
[Birmingham CC]:
G was convicted of the murdering the 16-year-old brother of his ex-partner in revenge for ending their relationship. The case is notable as it is one of very few where no body was recovered.
[Birmingham CC]:
N was charged with murder. He believed his wife was having an affair with a friend. He stabbed her 49 times in front of their children in a jealous rage. There was evidence that N had Othello syndrome. We successfully argued that the murder charge should be reduced to manslaughter.
[Birmingham CC]:
B was charged with assisting an offender. Her son had been charged with murder following a frenzied attack on a former girlfriend. It was alleged that B helped her son to dispose of bloodied clothing and the murder weapon. The prosecution evidence included footage captured on B’s dashcam.
[Birmingham CC]:
T was charged with murder. It was alleged to have robbed a petrol station, kidnapped the cashier and beaten him to death in a field. The case was forensically complex involving DNA experts, fibre experts, entomologists, and pathologists to address ‘washerwoman syndrome’.
Gangland shooting following disrespect of gang member’s girlfriend. An innocent member of the public was gunned down in the crossfire.
Murder by discharge of firearm to back of head, followed by burning of the body in the Lake District
A double murder involving the shooting of a rugby league star and an innocent member of the public
New year’s eve murder involving abduction, murder and disposal of body. The case was featured on BBC TV’s Crimewatch.
Murder by discharge of firearm to back of head, followed by burning of the body in the Lake District
Murder on a gypsy site in which the body was never recovered. The suggestion was made that the deceased, a convicted drug importer, was actually alive and well in Holland.
Murder involving gang rivalry between Birmingham’s Johnson Crew and the Burger Bar Boys, which was seen to have started their feuding
Murder and four attempted murders arising out of disrespect shown to criminal gang
Jamaican Yardie accused of killing fellow Yardies in order to take control of a substantial criminal gang
F was a French Foreign Legionnaire contracted by a solicitor in Leicester to murder his business partner, so that he could obtain a large insurance pay-out
B was contracted to set fire to a house for an insurance claim but was not told by the defendant who paid him that the house would be occupied. As a result, four people lost their lives.
The planned murder of a drug dealer
The victim had stolen a birthday card containing £10 belonging to a child. He was visited by H and a number others who attacked him with a snooker ball in a sock.
W was contracted to carry out a robbery but the main defendant had other ideas, namely to murder his ex-partner.