R V Campbell (2010) NSWSC 995
Desmond Campbell was found guilty of pushing his wife, Janet Campbell, of six months off a cliff top in the Royal National Park. Desmond pushed Janet from the top of a sheer 50m cliff south of Burning Palms, resulting in her death as she had hit her head on a rick platform below, in March 2005.
Elements Of The Offence
Before a criminal act can be brought to trial, the police and prosecutors need to prove the elements of a particular offence are present. The elements are; actus reus, mens rea and causation. Actus reus, meaning “guilty act”, it refers to the physical act of carrying out the crime. Mens rea, meaning “guilty mind” refers to the mental state of the accused. In order for the prosecution to succeed, …show more content…
A month before Janet died, Desmond bought an EPIRB (an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) and it was on this radio that he called an ambulance after Janet had fallen. At the scene, Janet’s shoe print was identified on the very edge of the cliff on a slope of about 26 degrees. There was damage to a shrub immediately adjacent to the shoe imprint consistent with her attempts to save herself from falling to her death. The imprint established that Janet was upright before falling from cliff edge, which is not consistent with some falling off a cliff, it suggests she was pushed. Mr. Campbell’s behaviour in the days following Janet’s death do not indicate a grieving husband, as on the first business day after Janet’s death, he went on holiday with his girlfriend and proposed to her. On the day of Janet’s funeral, Mr. Campbell paid $79.95 to join a dating website and messaged multiple women.
Role Of The Courts
All criminal cases begin in the Local Court. Summary offences are dealt with in the Local Court; more serious offences are referred to the District or Supreme Court after a committal hearing. There is no jury as matters are tried by a magistrate.
Local Court: Campbell’s committal hearing took place at the Deniliquin Court House where the R v Campbell case was found to have sufficient evidence for a criminal trial. He was also granted …show more content…
Solicitor for Regina was S Kavanagh (Solicitor for Public Prosecution) and M Bowe Solicitors for the offender.
The Plea
Desmond Campbell pleaded ‘Not Guilty’.
Factors That Affect The Sentencing Decision
There were Aggravating Factors:
Offence: Mr. Campbell pushed Janet off a 50m drop cliff where she fell onto rocks. Evidence proves she struggled before her death and would’ve known her fate.
Victim: She was very vulnerable in the moment as she had a fear of heights and didn’t know her surroundings. Evidence also shows that she was killed for her money.
There were no Mitigating Factors:
Mr. Campbell was not a good character, as multiple people testified that he had used derogatory and distasteful terms when describing his wife and other women. He was cheating on Janet with several women.
The defendant showed no remorse or grief about his wife’s death; he went on holiday with his girlfriend days after she died and did not attend Janet’s funeral.
Janet Campbell was a kind, generous woman who loved her husband and did not provoke him or give him any reason to murder her.
Judge Latham cited many cases during his decision of what time to sentence Mr.
Desmond Campbell was found guilty of pushing his wife, Janet Campbell, of six months off a cliff top in the Royal National Park. Desmond pushed Janet from the top of a sheer 50m cliff south of Burning Palms, resulting in her death as she had hit her head on a rick platform below, in March 2005.
Elements Of The Offence
Before a criminal act can be brought to trial, the police and prosecutors need to prove the elements of a particular offence are present. The elements are; actus reus, mens rea and causation. Actus reus, meaning “guilty act”, it refers to the physical act of carrying out the crime. Mens rea, meaning “guilty mind” refers to the mental state of the accused. In order for the prosecution to succeed, …show more content…
A month before Janet died, Desmond bought an EPIRB (an Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon) and it was on this radio that he called an ambulance after Janet had fallen. At the scene, Janet’s shoe print was identified on the very edge of the cliff on a slope of about 26 degrees. There was damage to a shrub immediately adjacent to the shoe imprint consistent with her attempts to save herself from falling to her death. The imprint established that Janet was upright before falling from cliff edge, which is not consistent with some falling off a cliff, it suggests she was pushed. Mr. Campbell’s behaviour in the days following Janet’s death do not indicate a grieving husband, as on the first business day after Janet’s death, he went on holiday with his girlfriend and proposed to her. On the day of Janet’s funeral, Mr. Campbell paid $79.95 to join a dating website and messaged multiple women.
Role Of The Courts
All criminal cases begin in the Local Court. Summary offences are dealt with in the Local Court; more serious offences are referred to the District or Supreme Court after a committal hearing. There is no jury as matters are tried by a magistrate.
Local Court: Campbell’s committal hearing took place at the Deniliquin Court House where the R v Campbell case was found to have sufficient evidence for a criminal trial. He was also granted …show more content…
Solicitor for Regina was S Kavanagh (Solicitor for Public Prosecution) and M Bowe Solicitors for the offender.
The Plea
Desmond Campbell pleaded ‘Not Guilty’.
Factors That Affect The Sentencing Decision
There were Aggravating Factors:
Offence: Mr. Campbell pushed Janet off a 50m drop cliff where she fell onto rocks. Evidence proves she struggled before her death and would’ve known her fate.
Victim: She was very vulnerable in the moment as she had a fear of heights and didn’t know her surroundings. Evidence also shows that she was killed for her money.
There were no Mitigating Factors:
Mr. Campbell was not a good character, as multiple people testified that he had used derogatory and distasteful terms when describing his wife and other women. He was cheating on Janet with several women.
The defendant showed no remorse or grief about his wife’s death; he went on holiday with his girlfriend days after she died and did not attend Janet’s funeral.
Janet Campbell was a kind, generous woman who loved her husband and did not provoke him or give him any reason to murder her.
Judge Latham cited many cases during his decision of what time to sentence Mr.