Court of Appeal
| Published date | 01 April 2018 |
| Author | Sian Dickson,Elizabeth Stuart-Cole |
| Date | 01 April 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022018318773163 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Case Note
Court of Appeal
Mentally Relevant? When Is a Loss of
Control Attributable to a Mental Condition?
RvRejmanski (Bartosz); R vGassmann
(Charice) [2017] EWCA Crim 2061
Keywords
Murder, loss of control, diminished responsibility, personality disorders, post-traumatic stress disorder, qualifying
trigger, provocation
In conjoined cases, the Court of Appeal was asked to consider to what extent a mental condition could be
relevant, if at all, to any assessment of ‘the circumstances of the defendant’ under s. 54(1)(c) and s. 54(3)
of the Coroners and Justice Act. Listed together, both cases contended that the trial judge’s directions
‘effectively deprived them of a defence’ (at [1]). This note will consider both cases disjunctively and
together, providing commentary on the key elements of both cases.
R v Rejmanski (Bartosz)
R lived with the deceased, Grzegorz Raczek, also a Polish national, and Adrian Magiel, with whom
Mr Raczek shared a room. On 28 March 2015, Mr Magiel and Mr Raczek were in their room when
R knocked at the door seeking to discuss missing food. Evidence presented to the court was that R and
Mr Raczek disliked each other, making Mr Raczek hesitant to open the door. However, they attended the
kitchen with R and seemingly resolved their differences while drinking a beer together. R was described
as appearing to be a little ‘tipsy’.
Returning to his room later that evening, Mr Magiel found the deceased lying on the floor, face
swollen, with R standing over him, trying to move his upper body. On asking R what had happened, he
replied, ‘he deserved it. He didn’t get a kicking for nothing’ (at [33]). Both men moved the deceased onto
the bed and R said, ‘Let him sleep’ (at [33]). R still appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, and it
was noted that there was a spilled bottle of vodka on the floor of the deceased’s room. Mr Magiel then
went downstairs to call the emergency services.
On arriving at the scene, the emergency services found the deceased lying on the bed, with several
head injuries. He was unresponsive and declared dead at the scene. R was sitting in the room at the time
of emergency response attendance and was strumming a guitar while singing or chanting the words ‘I’ve
killed him. He’s dead. I’m not afraid’ (at [35]), a contention he repeated to police upon arrest.
R continued to tell police he was responsible for the death, yet made no comment during
police interview.
During examination by a doctor at the police station, R told the doctor he was a former soldier and
boxer but made no disclosure of any medical condition. It was noted that R had injuries consistent with
The Journal of Criminal Law
2018, Vol. 82(2) 117–122
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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DOI: 10.1177/0022018318773163
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