Northern Ireland murder conviction quashed over jury direction

Northern Ireland’s Court of Appeal has quashed Julie Ann McIlwaine’s murder conviction for killing her partner, James Joseph Crossley, in March 2022. Judges ruled that the jury had been wrongly directed on her loss-of-control defence and gave prosecutors two weeks to decide whether to seek a retrial. [1]

Jurors had been asked whether someone with characteristics similar to McIlwaine’s “would” have acted as she did, rather than whether that person “might” have reacted similarly. Lady Chief Justice Dame Siobhan Keegan said the error was highly material, given evidence from two forensic psychiatrists that a properly directed jury could have accepted the defence. [1]

McIlwaine did not deny killing Crossley. A jury convicted her of murder in October 2024, and she was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 12 years before release could be considered. The sentencing judge found that she had suffered chronic domestic violence and abuse by Crossley. He also found that Crossley was asleep when she stabbed him, but rejected the prosecution’s argument that the killing had been planned. [1] [2]