David Hislop QC and Jeannie Mackie acted for Jason Needham who was unanimously acquitted of murder by the jury at Oxford Crown Court on 20th November after a three week trial. The allegation was that he had been part of a group which had chased and beaten the victim in June 2017: 4 members of that group were previously convicted of murder in September 2018. DNA analysis and transfer were crucial issues in the trial: the defence expert instructed was Jonathan Whitaker of Principal Forensic Services.
