“The unlawful killing of a human being under the Queens’s peace with malice aforethought, express or implied.” (Sir Edward Coke)
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First Actus Rues Element
Death
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Second Actus Rues Element
Human being
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Third Actus Rues Element
Queens Peace
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Fourth Actus Rues Element
Causation
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Mens Rea for Murder
Malice aforethought, express or implied”
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Malice Aforethought Meaning
intention (direct or oblique)
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Express Meaning
intention to kill
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Implied Meaning
intention to cause GBH
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Element 2 - Death
must be an unlawful killing (Malcharek), can be a positive act or omission. Death means V has no brain activity.
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Element 3 - HUMAN BEING
Human being’ does not include a foetus.
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Element 3 - QUEEN’S PEACE
Killing in war is not murder
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Element 4 - CAUSATION
D must be the factual and legal cause of V’s death.
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MENS REA
For murder, MR known as malice aforethought. Means intention (direct (Mohan) or oblique (Woollin)). Can be express (intend to kill) or implied (intend GBH (Vickers)).
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R v Malcherek
There is no fixed legal definition of death.
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R v Vickers (1957)
The court held that an intention to cause GBH, which resulted in the death of the V, satisfies the mens rea of murder.
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Direct Intention
where the D wants to kill or cause GBH, it is their aim desire or purpose. E.g. stabbing, shooting, poisoning etc. (R v Mohan)
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Oblique Intent
D's main aim not to kill/cause GBH, however, where the death of V is a virtually certain consequence and D foresaw this and is determined to continue, they liable for murder. (R v Woollin).
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