CPS News Centre

Criminal cases that the Crown Prosecution Service take to court are in the news every day. This section also covers many issues related to our work, including violence against women and girls, hate crime, support for victims and witnesses, statistics, and speeches by the Director of Public Prosecutions and other senior staff.

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To make criminal court reporting more open, the CPS, police, and media representatives have created an agreement: the Media Protocol: Working together to support open justice.

Showing 1 - 10 of 26 results for crime type "Violent crime" & area "South East"

Date format: dd/mm/yyyy
Date format: dd/mm/yyyy

First time an e-bike rider has been sentenced for manslaughter after crashing into an elderly man

An e-bike cyclist who killed an elderly man while riding on the pavement has been sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment suspended for two years for his manslaughter in what is thought to be the first case of its kind in the country.
Press Release Violent crime CPS South East

Three teenagers guilty of killing a man on a Kent beach

Three teenagers have been convicted of killing of a man on a beach in Kent.
Press Release Violent crime South East

Guilty plea over death of pensioner in fatal collision

A man has pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving, after a man in his 80s was hit and killed by a car in Medway, Kent.Pedestrian Tom Wallace, who was 89-years-old, was hit and carried by the car, driven by Albert Matraxhiu, on Monday 29 December in Gillingham.On Friday (30 January),…
Press Release Violent crime South East

Double jeopardy murderer sentenced to life imprisonment

A man, who was found guilty of murdering his wife in a double jeopardy case, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.Robert Rhodes was originally acquitted of killing his wife Dawn in June 2016, after he claimed at his original trial in 2017 that he and a child had been attacked and he had then…
Press Release Violent crime CPS South East

Guilty plea to attempted murder of a soldier in the street

A man has pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of a soldier in Gillingham.The victim, who was in military uniform at the time of the attack, was stabbed repeatedly by a man in the street near the Brompton Barracks on 23 July 2024. He underwent emergency surgery at a London hospital following the…
Press Release Violent crime CPS South East

Husband convicted of murder in double jeopardy case

A husband, who manipulated a young child into helping him to kill his wife, has been found guilty of murder, having previously been acquitted of the crime in 2017. New and compelling evidence from a child witness, who was under 10-years-old at the time of the murder, led to a successful…
Press Release Violent crime CPS South East

Man jailed for murdering woman in her sleep

A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a woman in her sleep and committing a sexual offence against her body afterwards.Ernestas Juska, 21, was sentenced today (Friday 28 November 2025) at Maidstone Crown Court to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 26 years, after…
Press Release Sexual offences Violent crime South East

Man guilty of double murder

A man who killed a wife and her husband at their home in Newhaven has been found guilty of their murder. Derek Martin, 67 and from Brighton, had admitted killing both Josh and Chloe Bashford at their home in Newhaven in June 2023 but had denied murder on the grounds of diminished…
Press Release Violent crime South East

Two men guilty of murdering e-bike riders

Two men have been found guilty of the murder of two e-bike riders after they were driven into deliberately following a pursuit by a pick-up truck on a motorway slip road in Surrey.
Press Release Violent crime South East

Man admits murdering woman in her sleep

A man has pleaded guilty to murdering a woman in her sleep and committing a sexual offence against her afterwards. Ernesta Juska, 21, entered the pleas at a hearing today (Friday 18 July) at Maidstone Crown Court, following the death of Nina Denisova in August 2024 at an address in Dartford…
Press Release Violent crime Sexual offences South East

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Media protocol

To ensure greater openness in the reporting of criminal proceedings, the CPS, the police and media representatives developed a joint protocol for working together. We are currently in the process of updating the protocol.

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