One evening, after consuming a significant amount of alcohol, Rapha spots a picture on Zoe’s Instagram story of his children playing football in the park with Zoe and another man. He decides to drive to Zoe’s parents’ house to confront her about it. Zoe hears him arrive and opens the door to him. Zoe told Rapha that he must leave because the children were out having pizza with their grandparents. She shuts the door, but Rapha stays banging on it until Zoe opens it again. Again she tells him that he should leave, ‘because I have a friend here’. Rapha then loses it. He grabs a large log from the log store by the front door and hits Zoe hard and repeatedly about the head with it. He bellows, ‘take that, you f***ing whore!’ as he does so. Zoe collapses to the floor and dies from severe head injuries.

Discuss Rapha’s liability for homicide.

Intention - hit someone on the head with a log - virtually certain to cause gbh.

'Rapha then loses it'.

Prosecution - Drove house, knocked on door and persisted, and his words used showed intention and did not demonstrate a loss of control - angry because she had a new partner - not lost his self control (Ahluwalia)

Things said or done which were of an extremely grave character and

justifiable sense of being seriously wronged.

Unlikely to be satisfied as he isn't in danger or his children

Justifiable - she has taken his children away and now can't see them and she has a new man in her house

Prosecution - sexual infidelity is not a qualifying trigger. Excuse to use violence as he is jealous.

Can't plead loss of control.