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Gosnell v R

Gosnell v R

Case [2014] NZCA 217 3 June 2014

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NOTE: HIGH COURT ORDER GRANTING PERMANENT NAME SUPPRESSION TO SPECIFIED WITNESSES REMAINS IN FORCE.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF NEW ZEALAND

CA436/2013 [2014] NZCA 217

BETWEEN
GAVIN JOHN GOSNELL

Appellant

AND

THE QUEEN Respondent

Hearing: 29 April 2014

Court:

Randerson, Stevens and Miller JJ

Counsel:

T Rickard-Simms for Appellant
J C Pike QC and J E Mildenhall for Respondent

Judgment:

3 June 2014 at 10.00 am

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT

A The application for an extension of time to appeal is granted.

B The appeal against conviction and sentence is dismissed.

REASONS OF THE COURT

(Given by Miller J)

GAVIN JOHN GOSNELL v R CA436/2013[2014] NZCA 217 [3 June 2014]

Introduction

[1] Mr Gosnell appeals his conviction for the murder of Hayden Miles at

Christchurch on 22 August 2011.1

The facts

[2] Mr Miles, who was aged 15, was a friend of Mr Gosnell’s then partner, Ms V. On 22 August Mr Miles joined her at Mr Gosnell’s flat for a drinking session. Later that afternoon some tension developed. Mr Gosnell wanted Mr Miles to leave the flat, but Ms V told him to stay. That seems somehow to have led Mr Miles to inform Mr Gosnell that Ms V was only using him and did not like him, and that in turn led Mr Gosnell to inflict a cruel, prolonged and ultimately fatal beating.

[3] The attack stopped and started three or four times, with Mr Gosnell forcing Mr Miles to clean himself up in the intervals (apparently because he was concerned that the police might make a curfew check), and Mr Miles at no time resisting. It began with punching and kicking, after which Mr Miles was told to go to the bathroom and clean himself up. The blows focused on Mr Miles’s face and head, Mr Gosnell saying that he wanted to knock him out but it was not working. Subsequently Mr Gosnell pinned Mr Miles to the ground, bending his arms and legs in an attempt to break them. Toward the end, Mr Gosnell stripped Mr Miles and put him in the shower to clean him up. By this time Mr Miles was not breathing properly and seems to have been barely conscious. While he was in the shower Mr Gosnell grabbed a razor blade and told him to cut his wrists, and also punched and kicked him.

[4] When the assault ended Mr Gosnell dragged Mr Miles to a couch and lay him on it, covering him with a blanket and evidently leaving him to sleep it off. The next morning, however, Mr Miles was found to be dead. His facial injuries were so
severe that one witness could not tell his gender.

1 He also appeals his sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum period of 18 years, but no separate submissions were advanced in respect of it. See R v Gosnell [2013] NZHC 1313.

[5] When Mr Gosnell realised that…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Continue reading Gosnell v R

Details

AGLC: Gosnell v R [2014] NZCA 217
Case: [2014] NZCA 217
Decision Date: 3 June 2014 at 10.00 am

CaseChat Overview and Summary

In the Court of Appeal of New Zealand, Gavin John Gosnell appealed against his conviction and sentence for the murder of Hayden Miles, who died from injuries sustained during a brutal assault by Gosnell. Gosnell was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum non-parole period of 18 years. The appeal centred on three primary grounds: alleged counsel error, the admissibility of evidence of dismemberment, and the admission of propensity evidence. Gosnell claimed that his trial counsel had pressured him not to testify, that the evidence of the dismemberment of the victim's body was unfairly prejudicial, and that the evidence of his former partner, who testified about his expressed intentions to kill someone and dismember the body, should not have been admitted.

The Court of Appeal found that Gosnell's counsel had not erred in advising him against testifying, as the decision not to testify was made by Gosnell himself after receiving reasoned advice from counsel. The Court also held that the evidence of dismemberment was probative of Gosnell's state of mind at the time of the killing and was not unfairly prejudicial, as it was relevant to establishing intent and the cause of death. Furthermore, the Court rejected the argument that the evidence of Gosnell's former partner was inadmissible, finding that it was relevant to his state of mind and its probative value outweighed any prejudicial effect.

Ultimately, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal against conviction and sentence, finding no miscarriage of justice. The appeal was dismissed, and the original conviction and sentence were upheld.

Orders