R v FEW (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 1771

R v FEW (No 2) [2013] NSWSC 1771

The Crown did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused murdered the child. Although the court accepted that several secondary injuries were inflicted by someone and that the accused deliberately lied to police about his movements on the morning of 30 March, the evidence did not prove to the required standard that he inflicted the secondary injuries, and the lies had a reasonably possible explanation other than consciousness of guilt. The combined medical and biomechanical evidence could not exclude the reasonable possibility that the fatal head injury resulted from the postulated accidental fall from the pram, and without other evidence discounting that possibility the Crown...

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
08 November 2013
Procedural Posture
Criminal Prosecution for Murder / Judge Alone Trial Verdict
Outcome
Accused found not guilty of murder.
Legal Topics
['murder' 'child Victim' 'judge Alone Trial' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'consciousness of Guilt Lies' 'tendency Evidence' 'expert Medical Evidence' 'biomechanical Evidence' 'accidental Fall Versus Inflicted Injury']
['criminal Law' 'evidence'] ['murder' 'child Victim' 'judge Alone Trial' 'circumstantial Evidence' 'consciousness of Guilt Lies' 'tendency Evidence' 'expert Medical Evidence' 'biomechanical Evidence' 'accidental Fall Versus Inflicted Injury']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Criminal Prosecution for Murder / Judge Alone Trial Verdict

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Crown had discounted the reasonable possibility that the injuries which caused the death of the child were sustained accidentally.' 'Whether secondary areas of bruising could be taken into account, and whether they had to be proved to have been deliberately inflicted by the accused before supporting a finding that the fatal injury was inflicted.' "Whether the accused's lies to police could be used as evidence of consciousness of guilt of the crime charged." 'Whether the Crown had discounted any other alternate hypothesis inconsistent with the guilt of the accused.' 'If the accused caused the death by a deliberate act, whether the act was done with an intention to kill or inflict grievous bodily harm.']

Ratio Decidendi

The Crown did not prove beyond reasonable doubt that the accused murdered the child. Although the court accepted that several secondary injuries were inflicted by someone and that the accused deliberately lied to police about his movements on the morning of 30 March, the evidence did not prove to the required standard that he inflicted the secondary injuries, and the lies had a reasonably possible explanation other than consciousness of guilt. The combined medical and biomechanical evidence could not exclude the reasonable possibility that the fatal head injury resulted from the postulated accidental fall from the pram, and without other evidence discounting that possibility the Crown...

Court Disposition

Accused found not guilty of murder.

Orders

  • ['Verdict of not guilty entered.']