Nigel Power QC has obtained a conviction for manslaughter in the prosecution case of Annie Kennedy.

The defendant was a prostitute who had befriend Francis Berry, a man of some 64 years of age. Mr Berry was stabbed with a screwdriver to the chest a number of times by the defendant. What was starkly in issue was whether the defendant was trying to fend off a sexual attack by Mr Berry and whether or not she stabbed him in the thigh.

The injury to the thigh was relatively modest but had catastrophic consequences, causing Mr Berry to die of necrotising facsiiitis within four days of the attack. On his admission to hospital he was seen by an A&E consultant who treated the chest injures but did not see any injury to Mr Berry's thigh. Causation was, therefore, very much in issue.

The consultant was called by the defendant in support of her case but following cross-examination of him, the jury were satisfied that he had missed the fatal injury during his examination and that the defendant was responsible for the fatal injury. Self-defence was also defeated and the defendant was convicted of manslaughter.

The press report is here.