Key Facts
- •Amos Wilsher convicted of conspiracy to rob, two murders, and wounding with intent.
- •Offences involved violent attacks on elderly victims in their homes, resulting in two deaths.
- •Evidence included DNA, cell site data, electronic tag data, witness accounts, and CCTV footage.
- •Prosecution relied on circumstantial evidence linking Wilsher to the crimes.
- •The prosecution also admitted evidence of a previous aggravated burglary conviction.
- •Wilsher appealed against his conviction, raising issues with the case to answer, the sufficiency of evidence for murder charges, and the admissibility of bad character evidence.
Legal Principles
Case to answer
Criminal Procedure Rules
Sufficiency of evidence for murder
Common law
Admissibility of bad character evidence
Criminal Justice Act 2003, section 101
Exclusion of evidence under section 78 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, section 78
Cross-admissibility of evidence
Common law
Sentencing for murder
Sentencing Act 2020, section 322
Conspiracy to rob
Criminal Law Act 1977, section 1(1)
Wounding with intent
Offences against the Person Act 1861, section 18
Outcomes
Appeal refused
Court found the evidence, while circumstantial, was sufficient to support the convictions. The correlations between the applicant's electronic tag data and the co-accused's phone data, along with DNA evidence and witness statements, were deemed strong enough. The court also upheld the admissibility of the previous conviction and the judge's direction on cross-admissibility.