Benguit, R v
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LADY JUSTICE RAFFERTY DBE
- MR JUSTICE CRANSTON
- MR JUSTICE STEWART
Areas of Law
- Criminal Law and Procedure
- Evidence Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
The case involves appellant Omar Benguit, who was convicted in 2005 for the murder of Jong-Ok Shin. The appeal was based on fresh evidence and inconsistencies in the main witness's testimonies. The court dismissed the appeal, determining that the new evidence did not significantly undermine the original verdict, and upheld the conviction.
Judgment
Lady Justice Rafferty:
The appellant, Omar Benguit, 41 years old, originally faced trial in 2003 with Nicholas Gbadamosi for:
Count 1 Murder of Jong-Ok Shin Appellant Count 2 Rape of BB Appellant and Gbadamosi Count 3 Assisting an offender Gbadamosi Count 4 Rape of BB Gbadamosi
The jury failed to agree on Benguit, and on Gbadamosi for assisting an offender, but acquitted Gbadamosi of both rapes. At a retrial in 2004 t he jury acquitted Benguit of rape and Gbdamosi of assisting an offender but failed to agree on murder. At the second retrial in 2005 in the Crown Court at Winchester Benguit was convicted of murder and sentenced to imprisonment for life, with a minimum term of 20 years. On 12 July 2005 his appeal against conviction was dismissed.
He appeals against conviction upon a reference by the Criminal Cases Review Commission (“CCRC”) under s.9 Criminal Appeal Act 1995 on the following grounds: Inconsistent post trial accounts further undermine the credibility of the main prosecution witness BB; and fresh evidence indicates that Danillo Restivo may have been responsible for the murder. His application for leave to appeal on a ground not related to the CCRC Statement of Reasons, expert evidence as to CCTV, has been referred by the single judge.
At approximately 0250 on 12 July 2002, 26 year old Korean language student Miss Jong-Ok Shin was stabbed on Malmesbury Park Road in Bournemouth walking home from a night club. She was sober, no-one witnessed the attack, and the knife was never recovered. Miss Shin told police and medical staff in poor English that her attacker from behind was a man in a mask who ran off. She had been stabbed in the back three times. On 22 August 2002 Benguit was arrested on suspicion of her murder.
Residents of Malmesbury Park Road said they heard on the street in the early hours of 12 July 2002 voices, arguing between a male and a female, piercing screams, a disturbance, and then a woman’s voice moaning. Some heard Miss Shin falling against a car. Two found her supine asking for help. She said she had been attacked by a man.
Dr Anscombe post mortem found no defensive injuries, no signs of a prolonged struggle and in his opinion she was stabbed unsuspectingly from behind. If the three stab wounds were in quick succession, there would have been little opportunity for the attacker to have been contaminated with blood. The blade was likely to have been single edged and at least 14 to 15 centimetres long.
At the appe