Christopher Curran was charged with the murder of Glynnis Solmaz, a 65-year-old pensioner from Caia Park in Wrexham. Mrs Solmaz had been left money by relatives and was known to be “cash rich”. Her son-in-law knew that she kept large sums of cash in a safe in a spare bedroom in her house and passed on every detail of her life to Mr Curran.

Mr Curran admitted that he helped plan the burglary; indeed the prosecution alleged that he was the leading light of a well-planned, highly sophisticated and professional criminal enterprise. The burglary went badly wrong and Mrs Solmaz died in her own home from “mechanical asphyxiation”, which in reality meant severe neck compression.

Christopher Curran entered the house after his co-accused Alexandros Wetherill had first gone in. The prosecution alleged that Mr Curran knew of or foresaw the real risk that Mrs Solmaz would be attacked with intent to cause her grievous bodily harm, and that her fatal assault was still happening when he entered the house to assist his accomplice. Even though he admitted helping to remove the safe whilst standing over Mrs Solmaz as she tragically lay dying beneath him, the jury cleared Mr Curran of both murder and manslaughter. The case involved complex analysis of the difficult issues of joint enterprise and foreseeability.

In this case Nigel Power QC was instructed by John Goodwin of Cohen Cramer solicitors and led Jonathan Duffy from his chambers at 7 Harrington Street.

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