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Latest Court Proceedings Videos
Please be advised that videos may contain graphic descriptions of serious crimes, including murder and sexual offences.
Alternative healer jailed over death at slapping therapy workshop
An alternative healer was jailed for 10 years over the death of a diabetic woman who stopped taking her insulin at his slapping therapy workshop.
Hongchi Xiao, 61, was convicted of ...the gross negligence manslaughter of 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm at a week-long retreat at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016.
Xiao was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a five-year extended licence period, at Winchester Crown Court.
The judge, Mr Justice Bright, said Mrs Carr-Gomm's "untimely death was a tragedy for her and all of those who loved her".
The court previously heard she was one of 30 "keen disciples" who attended the paida lajin therapy event, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Mrs Carr-Gomm, from Lewes, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1998 and had sought alternatives to her insulin medication because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.
Xiao claimed his method could cure nearly all diseases, including diabetes, and the severe bruising caused by the slapping showed toxins being released from the body.
Prosecutors said the therapist, from Cloudbreak, California - referred to as "Master Xiao" in the programme for the workshop - knew she was risking death but said "well done" after she told the group she had stopped taking her insulin.
The jury was told he then failed to seek medical help for her when became seriously ill and was "crying on her bed and howling in pain" before she died of diabetic ketoacidosis on the fourth day of the course.
The judge said Xiao had shown "no real sign of clear remorse" as he continues to practice and promote paida lajin in prison.
"I sentence you on the basis you knew from late in the afternoon of day one of the fact that Danielle Carr-Gomm had stopped taking her insulin," he said. "Furthermore you made it clear to her you supported this."
Xiao was extradited to face trial from Australia, where he had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of a six-year-old boy who died in April 2015 - 16 months before Mrs Carr-Gomm - when his parents stopped giving him his insulin after attending one of Xiao's workshops in Sydney.
Alternative healer jailed over death at slapping therapy workshop
An alternative healer was jailed for 10 years over the death of a ...
An alternative healer was jailed for 10 years over the death of a diabetic woman who stopped taking her insulin at his slapping therapy workshop.
Hongchi Xiao, 61, was convicted of ...the gross negligence manslaughter of 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm at a week-long retreat at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016.
Xiao was sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a five-year extended licence period, at Winchester Crown Court.
The judge, Mr Justice Bright, said Mrs Carr-Gomm's "untimely death was a tragedy for her and all of those who loved her".
The court previously heard she was one of 30 "keen disciples" who attended the paida lajin therapy event, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Mrs Carr-Gomm, from Lewes, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1998 and had sought alternatives to her insulin medication because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.
Xiao claimed his method could cure nearly all diseases, including diabetes, and the severe bruising caused by the slapping showed toxins being released from the body.
Prosecutors said the therapist, from Cloudbreak, California - referred to as "Master Xiao" in the programme for the workshop - knew she was risking death but said "well done" after she told the group she had stopped taking her insulin.
The jury was told he then failed to seek medical help for her when became seriously ill and was "crying on her bed and howling in pain" before she died of diabetic ketoacidosis on the fourth day of the course.
The judge said Xiao had shown "no real sign of clear remorse" as he continues to practice and promote paida lajin in prison.
"I sentence you on the basis you knew from late in the afternoon of day one of the fact that Danielle Carr-Gomm had stopped taking her insulin," he said. "Furthermore you made it clear to her you supported this."
Xiao was extradited to face trial from Australia, where he had previously been convicted of the manslaughter of a six-year-old boy who died in April 2015 - 16 months before Mrs Carr-Gomm - when his parents stopped giving him his insulin after attending one of Xiao's workshops in Sydney.
One of two teenagers convicted of murdering 16-year-old Brianna Ghey ...
One of two teenagers convicted of murdering 16-year-old Brianna Ghey had a bid to challenge the length of his sentence dismissed.
Brianna was stabbed 28 times with a hunting knife during ...the deadly attack by Eddie Ratcliffe and co-defendant Scarlett Jenkinson in a park near Warrington in February 2023.
Ratcliffe, who was 15 at the time of the attack, was sentenced to life with a minimum term of 20 years in February this year, with a judge describing the murder as "exceptionally brutal" and finding that he had expressed transphobia about his victim.
Lawyers for Ratcliffe, who is now 17 and has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and selective mutism, told a hearing at the Court of Appeal in London that the sentencing judge, Mrs Justice Yip, had failed to take into account his "immaturity" and that the minimum term was "far too high".
The Crown Prosecution Service opposed the appeal bid, arguing the sentence was "appropriate" and was not "manifestly excessive".
In a ruling on Thursday, three senior judges dismissed the bid, ruling that arguments made for reducing Ratcliffe's sentence were "based on a false premise".
Summarising their judgment, the Lady Chief Justice Baroness Carr, sitting with Mr Justice Lavender and Mr Justice Murray, said: "The judge's choice of a starting point of 20 years for a minimum term was correct, for the reasons that she gave.
"The judge was then entitled to take into account the aggravating factors as identified."
She continued: "The sentence imposed by the judge on the applicant was neither manifestly excessive, nor wrong in principle. The proposed grounds (of appeal) are not arguable."
Two teenagers and a sex worker who plotted the murder of a rival drug ...
Two teenagers and a sex worker who plotted the murder of a rival drug dealer were jailed for a total of at least 46 years.
Sacad Ali, 24, was lured to ...Sheffield's Ponderosa Park by Rebecca Moore where he was ambushed and stabbed to death by Barney Griffin and Jack Douglas for dealing "on their turf".
Griffin was sentenced to a minimum detention of 16 years while Douglas was told he would be detained for at least 15 years. Moore was jailed for a minimum of 15 years.
Sentencing the trio, the Recorder of Sheffield, Judge Jeremy Richardson KC, said: "You were all in this together. All three of you committed murder."
Griffin, 18, and Douglas, 17, both pleaded guilty to murder and possession of a bladed article. Moore, of Springvale Walk, Sheffield, was convicted of murder after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.
The teenagers, who had been running a drugs line in Sheffield, teamed up with drug user and sex worker Moore to attack Mr Ali in the early hours of 9 March 2024.
Moore and Mr Ali met at the communal park where he was stabbed 16 times by Griffin and Douglas and left to bleed to death.
Griffin and Douglas then fled the scene, with Moore leaving a short time later.
Riots teen freed on appeal - but three others fail to win sentence cuts
An 18-year-old man jailed for smashing a restaurant window during the ...
An 18-year-old man jailed for smashing a restaurant window during the summer riots was freed after successfully appealing against his sentence.
Dylan Willis, 18, who admitted violent disorder after repeatedly smashing ...a Middlesbrough restaurant window with a brick, had his 14 month sentence suspended for two years by Court of Appeal judges.
The panel of three senior judges, sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice in central London, said Willis' complex developmental and mental health background should have been taken into account.
Appeals on behalf of three other men - part of the first attempts to challenge riot sentences - failed to have their sentences cut.
Paul Williams, 45, was jailed for 24 months in August when he threw metal fencing and a can of beer at police after goading officers during rioting in Sunderland.
Ozzie Cush, 20, from Reading, was jailed for 46 weeks for assaulting an emergency worker after kicking a police officer during a central London protest.
Meanwhile, the Court of Appeal changed Aminadab Temesgen's sentence from one in prison to one in a Young Offenders' Institution due to his age. It remains the same length at 14 months.
Dame Sue Carr, the Lady Chief Justice, who heard the cases alongside Lord Justice Holroyde and Mr Justice Bennathan, said the disorder earlier this year was "fuelled by misinformation and far right sentiment, spreading to various towns and cities across the nation”.
She added that while offenders had to be sentenced for their individual crimes, the courts must also look at the bigger picture and the effect their actions has on spreading fear among the public.
A GP who disguised himself and injected his mother's partner with a ...
A GP who disguised himself and injected his mother's partner with a poison in a row over an inheritance was jailed for 31 years and five months.
Thomas Kwan, 53, was ...posing as a community nurse giving a coronavirus booster jab when he injected Patrick O'Hara, 71, with a toxin in Newcastle in January 2023.
Mr O'Hara contracted a life-threatening flesh-eating disease which caused horrific injuries.
Kwan disguised himself by wearing a long coat, flat cap, surgical gloves, a medical mask and tinted glasses as he carried out a 45-minute examination during a visit to the home of his mother.
He was obsessed with money and was angry that she had created a will in 2021 granting her partner of 21 years a share in her property.
Kwan had initially denied attempted murder but changed his plea after he heard the prosecution open the case against him.
The judge, Mrs Justice Lambert, said it was an "audacious" and extensively planned scheme to "kill a man in plain sight", which nearly worked.
"By your masquerading, you struck at the heart of public confidence in the health care profession," she told Kwan.
Teen jailed over knife murder of ex-girlfriend Holly Newton, 15
The teenager who stabbed 15-year-old Holly Newton to death in ...
The teenager who stabbed 15-year-old Holly Newton to death in Northumberland was jailed for at least 17 years.
Logan MacPhail, 17, followed ex-girlfriend Holly through Hexham town centre in January 2023, ...before attacking her - inflicting 36 injuries in just over a minute.
A 16-year-old boy who was with Holly at the time and tried to help her was also stabbed, leaving him with injuries to his shoulder, arm, and thigh which needed surgery.
MacPhail was found guilty of murder and wounding with intent following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Following the convictions, the judge lifted restrictions protecting his identity.
The trial was told that MacPhail was "jealous" Holly was with a new boy and had also told a friend that MacPhail was "basically stalking her".
The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, ordered him to be detained at His Majesty's pleasure - the juvenile equivalent of a life sentence - for a minimum of 17 years.
He told MacPahil: "You made a conscious decision to stab a 15-year-old girl to death with a knife that you were carrying unlawfully in a public place having followed her secretly around town for an hour, all because your relationship with her had ended.
"What happened in this case should not happen to any child or any parent.
"All those years ahead for a 15-year-old girl that she and they [her family] will never see."
This video has been edited to remove graphic details of serious offences.
The Solicitor General is the second law officer of the Crown in the United Kingdom, after the Attorney General. The role of the Solicitor General… Read more: Solicitor General
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Dom Watts founded the Ministry of Injustice in July 2021. Dom is an IT Professional with 30+ years experience in Tier 1 Banking, Government, Defence, Healthcare and Global Blue Chips. Dom has no legal training and is not a lawyer but has previously consulted for a Magic Circle Law Firm. You can find Dom on X or Google.
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