Court of Appeal
| Author | Siân Dickson |
| DOI | 10.1177/0022018318759985 |
| Published date | 01 February 2018 |
| Date | 01 February 2018 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Case Note
Court of Appeal
Householder Self-Defence and the
Erroneous Belief: What Has Changed?
RvRay (Stephen Jason) [2017] EWCA Crim
1391
In the early hours of 15 November 2015, Rory Hemmings entered the property of his former partner,
Kirsty Allen. Hearing a commotion from the door, Allen’s new partner, Ray, came downstairs to find
Hemmings arguing with Allen. Ray attempted, unsuccessfully, to convince Hemmings to lea ve the
property. As the situation became more heated, Ray and Hemmings became embroiled in a physical
altercation, during which Ray fatally stabbed Hemmings.
According to Allen, the relationship with Hemmings had been a violent one. He would regularly
threaten violence, especially after episodes of drinking. Hemmings had previously held a knife to Allen’s
throat, and Allen had frequently contacted the police to intervene in disputes and arguments. On ending
their relationship, Allen began a relationship with Ray. Allen’s evidence to court was that Hemmings
was not happy about the new relationship and had threatened extreme violence to both Allen and Ray.
Relations between the men deteriorated, with Allen and Hemmings’ children witnessing physical vio-
lence between the two men on one occasion. On the evening of 14 November, Hemmings sent a series of
abusive text messages to the couple. Hemmings was at a party and heard that Allen had slept with a
mutual friend before beginning her relationship with Ray. This appeared to be a catalyst for the events
that followed.
During the early hours of the morning on Sunday, 15 November 2015, Allen was awoken by banging
on her door. On opening the door, Hemmings burst into the property, shouting and swearing. Hemmings
was described by Allen as being very angry, taking particular exception to Ray’s presence in the
property. Ray attempted to calm Hemmings and persuade him to leave the house. Angered further by
Ray’s involvement, a physical altercation ensued. Ray believed that Hemmings had a weapon as Hem-
mings kept reaching towards his pocket. By this point, Allen’s children had awoken and began scream-
ing and crying. Allen submitted in evidence that she was very frightened. During the physical
altercation, believing that Hemmings did in fact have a weapon and would use the weapon against him,
Ray grabbed a knife from the drainer and stabbed Hemmings.
An ambulance was called immediately and when crews arrived they found Ray performing CPR upon
Hemmings. Medical evidence submitted at trial concluded that the cause of death had been a single stab
wound, 6 to 10 centimetres in length, administered with only mild force in the light of the absence of any
resistance from bone or cartilage.
At trial, Ray attempted to rely on the so-called ‘householder’ defence (s. 76(5A) of the Criminal
Justice and Immigration Act 2008, as amended by the Crime and Courts Act 2013), arguing he had
stabbedHemmingsinself-defence,fearingHemmingswascarryingaweaponwhichheintendedto
useagainstRay.Thetrialjudgesummedupthecase in light of, and in accordance with the earlier
The Journal of Criminal Law
2018, Vol. 82(1) 14–17
ªThe Author(s) 2018
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