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Prosecuting Homicide

Murder and manslaughter are two of the offences that constitute homicide.

Manslaughter can be committed in one of three ways:

  1. killing with the intent for murder but where there is provocation, diminished responsibility or a suicide pact.
  2. conduct that was grossly negligent given the risk of death, and resulted in death.
  3. conduct, taking the form of an unlawful act involving a danger of some harm, that caused death.

With some exceptions, the crime of murder is committed, where a person:

  • of sound mind and discretion (i.e. sane):
  • unlawfully kills (i.e. not self-defence or other justified killing)
  • any reasonable creature (human being)
  • in being (born alive and breathing through its own lungs)
  • under the Queen's Peace
  • with intent to kill or cause grievous bodily harm.

There are other specific homicide offences, for example, infanticide, causing death by dangerous driving, and corporate manslaughter.

Find out more about prosecuting homicide

Home » News Centre » Press Releases » Stirland case: Three men guilty of conspiracy to murder

Stirland case: Three men guilty of conspiracy to murder

29/06/2006

The cold-blooded murder of a couple who were hunted down and executed in a revenge killing was one of the most serious and difficult cases handled by Lincolnshire Crown Prosecution Service, said Chief Crown Prosecutor Colin Chapman.

Mr Chapman said that the circumstances of the crime meant there was very little direct evidence on which to base a case.

He said: "This has been one of our most serious and difficult cases. It was not the sort of crime that you see on tv dramas, where there is plenty of direct evidence such as eye witnesses and forensic evidence which leads investigators to the guilty parties straight away.

"What we had was a jigsaw of circumstantial evidence which built up a picture of those responsible - and at the centre of that picture, quite clearly, were the defendants."

Mr and Mrs Stirland had left their home in Nottinghamshire after Mrs Stirland's son, Michael O'Brien, was convicted of the murder of Marvyn Bradshaw. A teenage friend of Mr Bradshaw's, who witnessed the murder, declined in health and died soon afterwards of pneumonia. The jury was told that the Stirlands were targeted in revenge for these two deaths.

Mr Chapman said: "The cold blooded shooting of a couple in their own home, motivated by revenge for something in which they had no involvement, shocked Lincolnshire.

"We were determined to ensure that those responsible for planning, organising and executing these murders were brought to justice and we worked closely with Lincolnshire Police from the start to uncover and piece together how each of the defendants was involved."

It was detailed mobile phone evidence, said Mr Chapman, which placed the defendants at the heart of the crime.

He said: "The first challenge was to show how each of the accused were involved through their mobile phones - phones which were bought specifically for the purpose of planning and organising these murders - phones which were used in Lincolnshire as the defendants organised and carried out the killings. They were then thrown away and never used again.

"The second challenge was in presenting this vast amount of technical evidence to the jury in such a way that they could understand and decide the accused were indeed guilty."

Mr Chapman said the prosecution team had to:

  • Track 11 "murder phones" over hundreds of miles for 10 days.
  • Analyse in excess of 7,000 calls made by the defendants with these phones.
  • Disclose over 100 statements about the mobile phone usage.

He said: "Lincolnshire Police carried out a high quality investigation and everyone in the prosecution team - police, CPS, and counsel - was determined to bring the killers of Mr and Mrs Stirland to justice.

"I would like to express my sympathy to the families of Mr and Mrs Stirland and hope that they can at least take some little comfort from the guilty verdicts today."

  1. Contempt orders remain in place on two defendants who can only be identified by their ages ie a man aged 39 and a man aged 40.
  2. John Russell, Michael McNee, Shane Bird, Kevin Holm, Andrew McKinnon, Lanelle Douglas, together with two men aged 39 and 40, all faced a charge of conspiracy to murder John and Joan Stirland at Trusthorpe, Lincs, between August 1 and August 9, 2004.
  3. Russell, McNee and the 39- year-old were convicted of conspiracy to murder. Five other men were acquitted.
  4. For further information, contact CPS Press Office on 020 7796 8180.