S [2019] EWCA Crim 1443

The appellant was 16 at the time of the offence and was found guilty of manslaughter due to loss of control. He was sentenced to 7 years’ detention.

The victim, RU, had been in a secret relationship with the appellant’s older sister, PS. When their parents were away, RU stayed at the home address, and the appellant met him for the first time. On a later day, the appellant returned home to find his younger brother locked in the lounge and saw his sister having sex in another room. He went to look for the male who he had not recognised, he found RU in the garage and stabbed him. PS described her brother as very protective of her. The qualifying trigger, in this case, was the appellant’s misguided view that there was a rape taking place.

The first ground of appeal was as to the level of culpability, and an erroneous approach to the concept of provocation. The second that the judge erred in treating his conclusion that the appellant had an intention to kill as an aggravating factor. Finally, it was submitted that there were issues in the balance of aggravating and mitigating factors, and the appellant’s youth.

Held: the judge’s analysis of the facts in the unusual case was careful, detailed and well-reasoned. The result was a sentence at the high end of the range of appropriate sentences, but it was not manifestly excessive. The appeal was dismissed.