R V David Anthony McElhone
Death by dangerous driving - youth of driver - mitigation.
[2004] NICA 46 Kerr LCJ289 results
R v Oliver Junior Joseph Shortt
Murder - female victim - manual strangulation - prolonged, gratuitous attack in her home - set fire to house with the deceased's son (who managed to escape) in it - higher starting point category - tariff fixed at 17 years.
[2004] NICC 24 Kerr LCJ
R v William Skehens
Murder - elderly female victim (aunt) - sexually assaulted - stole money - death caused by mechanical asphyxiation - higher starting point case - terrible injuries prior to death - prisoner's youth - guilty plea - tariff fixed at 20 years.
[2004] NILST 21 Kerr LCJ
R v David Conway
Murder - 20 year old female victim - girlfriend - shot in face - sawn off shotgun - handed himself in to police - maintains accidential discharge - jury rejected this - no assigned starting point - possession indicates pre-planning - record of crimes of violence - admission and remorse - tariff fixed at 14 years.
[2004] NILST 23 Kerr LCJ
R v Henry Baird
Murder - girlfriend's young son who was ill - higher starting point - kicked child twice - evidence of at least intention to inflict GBH - broke down under interview and made admissions - no responsibility for his actions - considered and deliberate attack - not momentary loss of control - tariff fixed at 16 years.
[2004] NILST 19 Kerr LCJ
R v Gavin David McCartan
Proceeds of Crime - Failure to disclose information - using a false instrument (solicitor) - money laundering - custody virtually inevitable.
[2004] NICA 43
R v Clive Moore
Murder - attacked business acquaintance - multiple hammer blows - body partly rolled in river - later admission on basis of provocation - not accepted by jury - higher starting point - came armed with murder weapon - initially lied - some attempt at concealment - admission of actus reus - tariff fixed at 14 years.
[2004] NILST 18 Kerr LCJ
Conor Gerard Doyle, Attorney General's Reference No 6 of 2004 (AG Ref 16 of 2004)
Correct approach to guidance contained in Practice Statement.
[2004] NICA 33 Kerr LCJ
R v Kenneth Douglas
Murder - male victim (neighbour) - mistaken belief was deceased's son - grudge - multiple blows on head from blunt object - deed admitted to close family upon realisation - drinking - victim of sexual abuse - no clear starting point - planned attack - armed with weapon in advance - made himself available to police - numerous admissions - led police to the murder weapon - age - insignificant record - remorse - tariff fixed at 13 years.
[2004] NILST 17 Kerr LCJ
Thomas Potts, Attorney General's Reference (No 5 of 2004) (AG Ref 10 of 2004)
Reference by AG - whether sentence unduly lenient - Criminal Justice Act 1988 section 36 - blackmail - paramilitary background - guilty plea - previous criminal record - sentence unduly lenient - sentence increased to five years' custody and two years' probation.
[2004] NICA 27 Kerr LCJ
R v Michael McFadden
Murder - 74 year old male victim - robbery - savage beating followed by strangulation - higher starting point - pre-meditated and undertaken to prevent identification - previous convictions for robbery - admissions to police - early plea of guilty - tariff fixed at 17 years.
[2004] NILST 16 Kerr LCJ
R v Andrew George Mawhinney
Murder - 33 year old victim (neighbour) - both intoxicated - deceased initially the aggressor - provocation unsuccessfully argued - personality disorder - limited capacity to cope with stress and anger - does not fit comfortably into either starting point - attacked with clear intention of killing - armed with hatchet and knife - repeated blows - significant previous convictions - no compelling evidence of remorse - tariff fixed at 14 years.
[2004] NILST 15 Kerr LCJ
R v James O'Malley
Murder - 37 year old female victim - multiple blows to head from heavy blunt object - considerable force - could not explain his actions - expressed remorse - clear record - early guilty plea - higher starting point - victim in state of distress having been raped before he picked her up - tariff fixed at 14 years.
[2004] NILST 14 Kerr LCJ
R v Stephen John Boyle [2004] NILST 7
Murder - drunken state - attacked 2 flatmates with hurley stick causing multiple fractures - stabbed 3rd flatmate 10 times causing death - higher starting point - had intended to attack victim - armed himself with the knife in preparation - alcohol and anger management issues - previous convictions for offences of violence (including robbery and rape) - tariff fixed at 13 years.
[2004] NICC13 Kerr LCJ
R v David Andrew Nicholson [2004] NICC 14
Murder - inebriated victim - burglary - 78 stab wounds to various parts of body - higher starting point - many aggravating features - tariff fixed at 16 years.
[2004] NICC 14 Kerr LCJ
Thomas John Hazlett, Attorney General's Reference (No 3 of 2004) (AG Ref 4 of 2002)
Firearms Offences - whether sentence is unduly lenient - double jeopardy.
[2004] NICA 20 Kerr LCJ
R v William George Long [2004] NILST 6
Murder - 41 year old female victim (girlfriend) - domestic argument - hit repeatedly over the head with a blunt object (edge of hatchet) - claimed he and the victim had been drinking - could not remember hitting her - at trial claimed he suffered from mental impairment - does not fit comfortably into normal or higher starting point category - lengthy criminal record for violent offences - tariff fixed 14 years.
[2004] NICC 10 Kerr LCJ
R v Ignatius Patrick Gribben
Murder - male victim (previously had affair with prisoner's wife) - shot dead - claimed shooting was an accident - normal starting point - jury rejected suggestion firearm was discharged other than deliberately - some provocation - lured victim to remote house - knew he could obtain access to firearm - some attack was intended - tariff fixed at 13 years.
[2004] NILST 5 Kerr LCJ
R v Karen Elizabeth Carson [2004] NILST 3
Murder - husband victim - single stab wound to chest - intoxicated - initially alleged third party attack - then claimed self-defence - evidence prisoner had a violent temper - previously offered money to friend to murder her husband - normal starting point - a dispute between two people known to each other - still maintains that it was drunken accident - killing was a deliberate act - no pre-meditation - little evidence of genuine remorse - contested her guilt over two trials - tariff fixed at 12 years.
[2004] NICC 5 Kerr LCJ
R v Darren Larmour [2004] NILST 2
Murders - two paramilitary gun murders - convicted on his own confession - higher starting point - planned and pre-meditated - illegal firearms - armed in advance - undoubted intention to kill - medical condition - full admission of guilt - youth of offender (21) - tariff fixed at 15 years.
[2004] NICC 4 Kerr LCJ