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England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions |
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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales Court of Appeal (Criminal Division) Decisions >> Taylor, R. v [2024] EWCA Crim 1319 (18 September 2024) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Crim/2024/1319.html Cite as: [2024] EWCA Crim 1319 |
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CRIMINAL DIVISION
ON APPEAL FROM THE CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT
(HIS HONOUR JUDGE LICKLEY KC] [T20227453]
The Strand London LC2A 2LL |
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B e f o r e :
THE VICE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT OF APPEAL CRIMINAL DIVISION
(Lord Justice Holroyde)
MR JUSTICE NICKLIN
MRS JUSTICE THORNTON DBE
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R E X |
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- v - |
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LIAM TAYLOR |
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Lower Ground Floor, 46 Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1JE
Tel No: 020 7404 1400; Email: [email protected] (Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
Miss J Osborne KC appeared on behalf of the Crown
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Crown Copyright ©
MRS JUSTICE THORNTON:
Introduction
The Facts
The Evidence of the Forensic Pathologist
The Sentencing Remarks
a) planning (not to a minor degree);
b) abuse of trust (this was an extreme example of domestic abuse);
c) mental and physical suffering caused before death (there were elements of sadistic behaviour in the targeting of the deceased's face, and sexual elements in the stabbing of the vaginal area;
d) the deliberate and intended termination of the pregnancy;
e) the use of weapons (scissors and a dumbbell);
f) the appellant was under the influence of drugs at the time of the offence;
g) the attack was ferocious, targeting the face, abdomen and genital areas; there was gratuitous violence;
h) the appellant took Miss Walsh's phone to send messages to divert attention; and
i) his previous convictions demonstrated a history of violence to women.
The Grounds of Appeal
1. The judge erred in finding that the appellant had an intention to kill the foetus;
2. The judge erred in finding that the offence was aggravated by a significant degree of planning and/or preparation;
3. The judge erred in classifying the seriousness as particularly high by finding that the offending was sadistic and sexual in nature, which resulted in a starting point of 30 years; and
4. The judge erred in not reducing the sentence for remorse.
Analysis
We do not read the judge's sentencing remarks as a finding that the paragraph 3(e) category of case applied. This is because the judge referred to elements of sexual of sadistic conduct in the context of finding there to have been physical or mental suffering before death. However, for the avoidance of doubt, applying the test in R v Bonellie [2008] EWCA Crim 1417, which was cited to us, we do not think that there was sufficient evidence to conclude that the murder involved an enhanced pleasure in the infliction of pain. The facts of this case are very different from R v Khan [2021] EWCA Crim 428, where the Court of Appeal accepted that the death was accompanied by sadistic conduct. Nor was the death of the victim sexual in nature, or accompanied by sexual activity that increased the ordeal: see R v Walker [2007] EWCA Crim 2631.
Decision