murder

• lord coke defined as 'the unlawful killing of a reasonable being under the king's peace with malice aforethought, express or implied'
• most serious of fatal offences - mandatory life
• actus reus of killing may be an act or omission (gibbons and proctor) and this act or omission must have caused the death
• the law reform (year and day act) 1966 states how there is no time unit for the death after the killing, though, it states that if the death is more than 3 years after the attack, the attorney-general's consent is needed for the prosecution
• a foetus cannot be killed (A-G's ref no3 1994) however, HOL states that if a foetus is injured and the child is born alive but dies afterwards, because of the injuries, this can be the actus reus of murder or manslaughter
• killing an enemy in the course of war is not murder, though, killing a prisoner in the course of war is sufficient for the actus reus of murder
• the killing must be unlawful, not in self defence, in defence of another or in prevention of crime
• D must either have intent to kill (express malice aforethought) or intention to cause GBH (implied malice aforethought) (vickers) and (cunningham)
• GBH was defined in DPP v Smith as 'really serious harm'
• foresight of consequences is evidence of intention (moloney) and oblique intent may be shown if death or serious injury was a virtual certainty and D appreciates this (woollin)
• no clear legal definition of being dead, but its usually defined as brain stem death (malcherek)