ABSTRACT
Hirst LJ: This tempestuous relationship was a complex story, with several distinct and cumulative strands of potentially provocative conduct building up until the final encounter. Over the long term there was continuing cruelty, represented by the beatings and the continued encouragement of prostitution, and by the breakdown of the sexual relationship. On the first part of the night in question there was the threatened ‘gang bang’, and the drunkenness. Immediately before the killing, quite apart from the wounding verbal taunt, there was his [the deceased’s] appearance in an undressed state, posing a threat of sex which she [the defendant] did not want and which he must have known she did not want, thus demonstrating potentially provocative conduct immediately beforehand not only by words but also by deeds. Finally of course there is the taunt itself, which was put forward as the trigger which caused the appellant’s self-control to snap ... we consider that the guidance in the form of careful analysis of these strands should have been given by the judge so that the jury could clearly understand their potential significance.
