David Butcher

As a police station representative, David attended a lengthy interview of a boy in his early teens who had hatched a plan to murder a number of his fellow pupils at school, having been influenced by such events around the world. This was a difficult case that came completely out of the blue one Sunday evening and attracted considerable local media interest. Follow up interviews were required which David also attended.

David was involved as a police station representative and then paralegal in the case of a stepfather who was accused of raping his teenage stepdaughter. David was convinced from the word go of the client’s innocence but he was charged and appeared at the Crown Court. Crucial to his defence were social services records which would show that the complainant had made similar false reports in the past. David had to battle, and eventually obtain a court order requiring these records to be made available to the defence, and in due course the client – after months of stress and worry – was found not guilty by a jury who took less than thirty minutes to reach that decision.

David dealt with a male client who was originally charged with attempted murder by allegedly reversing his vehicle into his partner. Again, there were in David’s mind, serious doubts as to the account that was being put forward by the complainant and in a case which dragged on for over two years because of COVID, David repeatedly communicated with the client and his family, along with arranging road traffic experts, making trips to the scene of the incident, and interviewing defence witnesses. Again, when the case finally reached the Crown Court, it took the jury less than an hour to reach a unanimous not guilty verdict.

In another case, a local pub landlord was accused by a former partner of historic and prolonged controlling and coercive behaviour, assaults and abuse. David was convinced that the client was telling the truth when he denied all these allegations and David spent much time gathering evidence from pub customers, family members and others who knew the accused and was able to paint a very different picture of this man to the picture being painted by the complainant and the Crown. The case went to the Crown Court where a not guilty verdict was delivered on all charges against him.

David was actively involved in a case where Police had arrived out of the blue at a client’s home address and had arrested him on suspicion of possession of indecent images of children. David was convinced after speaking with the client that an awful mistake had been made by the Police, as a result of which the client lost his job and had to live with these allegations hanging over his head for three years before the case got to the Crown Court. David liaised regularly with the client, with Counsel and with our own experts and it was clear that there appeared to be no conclusive evidence against this client. The arrest was justified by the Crown on the basis of “police intelligence”. On day one of the trial, the Jury asked that the Crown be required to say exactly what intelligence had led to this client’s arrest. When they were unable to do so, the case was dismissed and the client was hugely relieved and grateful.

David attended the police station for an interview where a male had been arrested on suspicion of murdering his female partner who the Police suspected he had fatally stabbed with a piece of broken glass. It is often the case with a murder investigation that clients be advised to make no comment at the first interview as the Police will undoubtedly be making further enquiries, maybe house to house enquiries, carrying out forensic work, and there will be an autopsy to confirm cause of death. In this case however, the client had an entirely plausible account to give, the basis of which was that the deceased’s death had been a tragic action due to her falling heavily onto a number of glasses, a shard of glass from one of them causing a fatal puncture wound. In view of the client’s adamant denial of guilt and full account, David advised him to answer questions in interview. The autopsy was arranged urgently the same day and this supported the client’s account. Armed with that outcome, the Police released the client from custody and no further action was taken against him.

Murder investigations by the Police are often time consuming and require several interviews. David undertook two such cases where there was little doubt that the clients concerned would be charged with murder. One client was a male arrested and ultimately charged with the murders of his wife

and two young children, the other a fourteen year old boy who was arrested and then charged with the murder of another youth.

David kept an open mind, reassured the clients at the police station, explained the processes at all times and did what he could to support them in such difficult circumstances.