Rowan Jenkins led Ed Hand and Charlotte Morrish to secure a murder conviction. He was instructed by Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
The defendant, Kai Gasson, was a 17 year old drug dealer who became involved in an altercation with another male who had initially tried to rob him. The defendant pulled out a folding knife from his bag and stabbed the deceased. As he tried to run away, the defendant pursued him to an alleyway where he stabbed him a second time before fleeing the scene. There were no witnesses to this second stabbing, so the prosecution had to prove it from circumstantial evidence only. The defence had argued self-defence/loss of control manslaughter, but after 3 days of deliberation, the jury convicted of murder.
This was a complex case involving young witnesses, several of whom were friends of the defendant, and a deaf/mute witness who gave evidence through intermediaries/sign interpreters. The murder weapon was disclosed days before the start of trial. Reporting restrictions lifted.
