Katrina Charles

Defence junior represented a 80 year old male charged with murder arising out of a historical review of unsolved homicides. The defendant was acquitted of Murder and convicted of Manslaughter.

Read more on BBC

Leading counsel prosecuted multi-handed Fraud straddling 2 jurisdictions.

Prosecuted the defendant who was charged with rape. He raped the complainant whilst she was unconscious in her own bed. He was convicted and sentenced to 7 years imprisonment.

Read more on the Daily Mail

Defended Mr P-E who was acquitted of Violent Disorder. Multiple defendants charged with violent disorder and s.18. They were seen rampaging through the streets of central London armed with knives and a gun.

Leading counsel prosecuted ‘Rogue Trader’ in 3 month trial at Isleworth CC. The defendant was convicted of multiple counts of fraud. He targeted elderly and vulnerable affluent homeowners by posting flyers and/or business cards purporting to be from an established auction house offering to collect items value and sell them. However he sold their valuable items without their permission for huge personal gain.

Read more on the Daily Mail

A victimless prosecution of a defendant charged with sexual offences concerning an elderly lady with mixed dementia. A case requiring sensitive handling when dealing with the ‘victim’s’ family as they were witnesses. A case wholly reliant on psychiatric evidence, third party material and body worn evidence to ascertain the ‘victim’s’ demeanour and her mental health. This was a factually and legally complex case. It is presumed that a person has the mental capacity to consent until this presumption is displaced. A legally intricate process reliant upon case law both civil and criminal. Isleworth Crown Court

Led by Justin Rouse KC in largest criminal trial staged under Covid conditions prosecuting a multi-defendant trial involving gang murder of teenager. Youngest defendant was 14 at time of offence. Convictions for murder, manslaughter and knife offences followed. Woolwich Crown Court.

News report here

Leading junior prosecuting 9 defendants charged with fraud concerning the high street store Boots. Croydon Crown Court.

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed commercial insurance fraud considered to be the largest insurance fraud investigated by City of London police. It has led to conferences and seminars being held so that the insurance companies can gain an understanding of the methods deployed to defraud and alter their internal criteria. Inner London Crown Court.

The widely reported case concerning a defendant charged with two counts of sending an article conveying false information contrary to the Malicious Communications Act. The defendant had written a book ‘Behind the Artichokes’ which she published privately and sent to members of her sisters’ community. The jury were invited to read the book in the privacy of their room and The Times reported that Observers said that the most recent case they could recall in which a jury had been told to read an entire book was the obscenity trial of Penguin Books over Lady Chatterley’s Lover by DH Lawrence in 1960.

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed ‘crash for cash’ insurance fraud. Factually and legally complex involving two solicitors’ firms and attracting an interest by the SRA. The main defendant absconded during examination in chief and ‘new’ bank accounts were discovered attributed to one of the defendant’s (a doctor) during the trial.

Inner London Crown Court.

Leading junior prosecuting a multi-handed conspiracy to steal involving high value motor vehicles and PII. This was one of four trials as a result of a large scale operation involving officers from the National Crime Squad. Having attended the locations where the cars were stored to examine them with the assistance of the vehicle examination expert for the purposes of satisfying an audit trail as part of the PII consideration Katrina can assert that ‘what she doesn’t know about cars isn’t worth knowing’.

Two of the defendants Franckevicius and Baraka’s appealed their convictions, the full court heard the application and ruled the convictions safe. The judgement handed down by LJ Hallett makes for an interesting read. Snaresbrook Crown Court, CoA June 2017.