Guilty Verdict After 8-week Murder Trial
12 February 2025
Representing the Crown, 187’s Richard Christie KC and Matthew Bagnall, secured a murder conviction at St. Albans Crown Court.
The case was very unusual in that the Defendant had not been physically present at the scene but encouraged his nephew to beat the victim to death over the telephone following years of grooming of the nephew into committing criminal offences of a more and more serious character.
The nephew had previously been convicted in an earlier trial leading to the discovery of an audio recording of the murder.
The motive for the attack was a family debt that had not been paid said to total £500,000. Complex bad character evidence and evidence from abroad was given during the trial.
Richard Christie KC and Matthew Bagnall were instructed by CPS Thames & Chiltern.
Sentence is due to take place in April 2025.
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