Clarissa Rodio, led by Maryam Mir of Doughty Street Chambers, instructed by Sevim Zelal Tonbul of Morgan Has Solicitors, successfully secured an acquittal for their client on a charge of attempted murder following an eight-week trial at the Central Criminal Court.
The Crown’s case was that the defendant, who was present at the scene of a stabbing in Canning Town in March 2025, was guilty of attempted murder on the basis of joint enterprise. The entire incident was captured on CCTV. The Crown also relied upon telephone calls between the defendant and one of the stabbers in the period surrounding the incident, together with DNA evidence linking the defendant to a knife recovered close to the scene.
The client had a previous conviction for possession of a knife two years earlier but had since distanced himself from criminality. He was the only defendant in the trial to give evidence. His case was that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time. Maryam and Clarissa challenged the reliability and significance of the DNA evidence and carefully analysed the telephone evidence, demonstrating that the number and duration of the calls were less significant than initially indicated.
Following more than 26 hours of deliberation, the jury acquitted the defendant of attempted murder. He was convicted of the lesser charges of GBH and Violent Disorder. He will be sentenced alongside his co-defendants in November 2026.
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To instruct Clarissa, please contact the clerking team at clerks@greatjames.co.uk or on 0207 4404949.