The King v John Miller
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Keegan LCJ |
| Judgment Date | 04 December 2023 |
| Neutral Citation | [2023] NICA 81 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2023] NICA 81
Judgment: approved by the court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: KEE12331
ICOS No: 18/77162/A01
Delivered: 04/12/2023
IN HIS MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
ON APPEAL FROM THE CROWN COURT SITTING AT DUNGANNON
THE KING
v
JOHN MILLER
___________
Mr Hutton KC with Ms Cheshire (instructed by Phoenix Law Solicitors) for the Applicant
Mr Weir KC with Mr Simon Reid (instructed by the PPS) for the Crown
___________
Before: Keegan LCJ, McFarland J and Kinney J
___________
KEEGAN LCJ
Introduction
[1] The applicant renews an application for leave to appeal a conviction for
murder. This followed a jury verdict on 8 October 2019. A life sentence was
imposed on that day and subsequently on 10 February 2020 a minimum tariff of 16
years was set by the trial judge, His Honour Judge Fowler KC (“the judge”). The
applicant has been refused leave to appeal by the single judge, Mr Justice O’Hara.
[2] There are two grounds of appeal as follows:
(i) That the judge erred in failing to withdraw the case from the jury at the close
of the prosecution case after an application of no case to answer otherwise
termed a Galbraith type application.
(ii) In the alternative, if the case was not one which should have been withdrawn
from the jury at the close of the prosecution case there were material
irregularities in the conduct of the trial which have an adverse effect on the
safety of the conviction.
2
Factual background
[3] The applicant was charged with the murder of Charlotte Murray, alleged to
have been committed by him between 30 October 2012 and 2 November 2012. He
pleaded not guilty at arraignment and a trial was held at Dungannon Courthouse in
September 2019. This trial ran from 11 September 2019 until the jury reached a
verdict on the 8 October 2019 which convicted the applicant of murder.
[4] The Crown case was to the effect that the applicant and Ms Murray had been
in a relationship and lived together at 3 Roxborough Heights, Moy, near
Dungannon, for some time prior to her disappearing in late 2012. Ms Murray had
not been seen or traced since disappearing despite extensive police investigation
seeking evidence of her being alive. The Crown case was that she had been killed by
the applicant on the night of 31 October into the morning of 1 November 2012. The
Crown further suggested that the likely motive for this was that Ms Murray had sent
intimate photographs of herself with another man in the run up to this event. It was
common case that these photographs were taken on the night of 21 October 2012
when Ms Murray stayed the night at the home of a friend and acquaintance of the
applicant called Ciaran McMahon. It was asserted by the Crown that on seeing the
photographs the applicant would have known that the photographs related to this
night and that they were taken by Ciaran McMahon, and as a result the applicant
would have been led to kill Ms Murray as a result of this behaviour.
[5] It was also suggested by the prosecution that having killed Ms Murray, the
applicant disposed of her body and set about laying a false trail by manufacturing
text messages between her phone and his, posting a message on her Facebook
account and generally indicating that she was away to live a new life. After
Ms Murray disappeared, her mobile phone was used on several occasions to contact
the applicant ’s mobile phone. The cell site evidence indicated that these text
messages were sent using cell sites that serviced the general area of the couple’s
home at 3 Roxborough Heights and its environs.
[6] The defence disputed the claims made by the prosecution. Whilst it was
accepted that there was a breakdown in the relationship the applicant denied that he
had killed Ms Murray. The defence placed emphasis on the fact that Ms Murray was
a vulnerable person who had a history of seeking assistance for depression in the
run up to her disappearance. She had not had contact with her family for some
considerable time in the run up to her disappearance. She had also in the period
before disappearing been in contact with various other individuals including a
former boyfriend, another unidentified woman, two foreign national males, and a
person called Peter. In addition, it was pointed out that her personality was
characterised by elements of aggression and violence particularly when under the
influence of alcohol. She admitted to hitting the applicant when in conversation
with a psychiatrist.
To continue reading
Request your trial