Katherine Goddard KC

R v GA | Sheffield Crown Court – Two counts of murder, separated by 20 years.  D had been acquitted of the first murder, but Pros successfully applied to quash the acquittal at a Court of Appeal hearing conducted by the DPP himself. Complex case, in law and fact, including the admissibility of covert recordings made during a 2-year undercover police operation between the two murders.

Leading Andrew Smith MBE and Rosemary Kavanagh

Prosecution Leading Counsel – Mr Alastair McDonald KC

R v SB | Bradford Crown Court. This matter was heard at Bradford Crown Court before Mrs Justice Lambert and received extensive national press coverage.

The Facts centred on the unlawful killing of a toddler against the background of a same-sex relationship between the two defendants.

It involved a complex cut throat defence.

Furthermore, there was complex medical evidence in which several acts of violence towards the deceased could have led to death.  After cross-examining the doctors, the Crown eventually agreed that a severe head injury, only discovered post-mortem, could not have been caused by B, and was, therefore, most likely caused by the co-accused.

R v DB |Lincoln Crown Court Before Mr Justice Pepperell sat at Lincoln.

The double killing of Defendant’s ex-partner and her nine-year-old son.  Defence of Diminished responsibility arising from Ds diagnosis of dissociative personality disorder was raised. However, she was convicted of murder.

R v AM |Leicester Crown Court.  Pros.  D was accused of stabbing their mother 83 times in her own home.  D had undiagnosed autistic spectrum disorder, and diminished responsibility was raised as the defence.

R v G & C | Nottingham Crown Court. Murder by multiple  blows struck by zombie knives and a machete.The Crown instructed no junior, and multiple disclosure issues arose due to a late change of defence counsel.

R v M First Defendant in multi-handed sexual grooming case where the single complainant had made allegations of sexual misconduct against about 60 individuals.  This was the second of three separate trials, and there were complex issues of disclosure of information/evidence in the other two trials.

R v SO | Sheffield Crown Court October- November 2020. (Defence) D was jointly charged with the murder of her two-year-old son together with her then partner.  Cutthroat defence.  Co-D was convicted of murder, and O was acquitted of murder but convicted of allowing the killing. D was very vulnerable and, on the evidence, had been the victim of manipulation by the co-D.

R v MD |Sheffield CC.  January – February 2023. (Defence) One of 5 Ds accused of joint enterprise murder.  Responsible for driving three co-Ds to the killing scene, knowing there would be a confrontation with another group of the same size. Seen on CCTV to be an active participant in a fight with one of the other groups, only feet away from a fatal stabbing and a similar distance from another non-fatal stabbing.  Then drove the others away from the scene with the apparent knowledge that they had used weapons during the incident.  D was the only person acquitted of all counts on the indictment.

R v JR | Sheffield CC March-April 2023 (Defence) D accused of the murder of a 62-year-old man by deliberately driving over him following an argument and a violent assault moments earlier. Detailed technical evidence called by the Crown detailing why Ds claim that he had lost control of the car could not have been right – evidence served four days before the trial was due to start.