Ben Brough Acquitted of Murder

16/07/2009

Benjamin Brough was convicted of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Mrs Hopkinson in May 2006 and as a result of this conviction he was sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.

After Mrs Hopkinson died in February of 2008 the Crown Prosecution Service reviewed this case in order to establish whether or not it was possible to prove the cause of Mrs Hopkinsons death was directly attributable to the defendant and his actions. Consent was subsequently sought, and granted by the Attorney Generals Office, to pursue a further prosecution for the offence of murder.

Mr Keith Prosser, Acting Chief Crown Prosecutor said,

"In order to establish the offence of the murder the prosecution needed to prove that the actions of the defendant were a substantial cause of Mrs Hopkinsons death. Having carefully considered this case, and sought expert opinion, we believed that there was sufficient evidence to suggest that this causation could be established. Accordingly we were given consent by the Attorney Generals Office to pursue this matter to a second trial.

During the trial process this evidence has been tested and sufficient doubts have been raised for the Judge to order an acquittal."