King v David Jonathan Holden
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | O'Hara J |
| Judgment Date | 02 February 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NICC 4 |
| Date | 02 February 2023 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NICC 4
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: OHA12054
ICOS No: 19/005923
Delivered: 02/02/2023
IN THE CROWN COURT IN NORTHERN IRELAND
SITTING IN BELFAST
___________
THE KING
v
DAVID JONATHAN HOLDEN
___________
Mr C Murphy KC with Mr S Magee KC (instructed by the Public Prosecution Service)
for the Crown
Mr F O’Donoghue KC with Mr I Turkington (instructed by MTB Solicitors)
for the Defendant
___________
SENTENCING REMARKS
__________
O’HARA J
[1] Having found the defendant guilty of gross negligence manslaughter, I now
have to pass sentence on him. I am grateful again to counsel for their helpful
submissions which have focused on the relevant issues.
[2] I will not repeat all of the findings which I reached in my judgment of
25 November 2022. I do however highlight the following:
(i) The defendant was 18 years old when he killed Aidan McAnespie in February
1988, almost 35 years ago.
(ii) The defendant has been convicted of manslaughter, not murder. That verdict
is based on the fact that he did not intend to kill or cause serious harm.
(iii) He was however grossly negligent because, wrongly assuming that the gun
was not cocked, he aimed it at Mr McAnespie and deliberately pulled the
trigger.
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