A man named Julian Hall kept a woman named Jeannie Baxter and had made a will in her favour. They had had many quarrels. He had promised to marry her but had not done so. On April 13, 1913, she took his revolver and, whilst he was in bed, shot him dead with four or five shots. She was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter.
Held: The forfeiture rule applied to a person convicted of manslaughter.
Cozens-Hardy MR, applying Cleaver said: ‘It is said that that was a case of murder, and not manslaughter. I entirely fail to appreciate that distinction. It was a case of felony and I see no reason to draw a distinction between murder and manslaughter in a case like this.’
Hamilton LJ said: ‘The principle can only be expressed in that wide form. It is that a man shall not slay his benefactor and thereby take his bounty; and I cannot understand why a distinction should be drawn between the rule of public policy where the criminality consists in murder and the rule where the criminality consists in manslaughter’.
Judges:
Cozens-Hardy MR, Hamilton LJ
Citations:
[1914] P 1
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Dunbar (As Administrator of Tony Dunbar Deceased) v Plant CA 23-Jul-1997
The couple had decided on a suicide pact. They made repeated attempts, resulting in his death. Property had been held in joint names. The deceased’s father asked the court to apply the 1982 Act to disentitle Miss Plant.
Held: The appeal was . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Wills and Probate
Updated: 06 May 2022; Ref: scu.199535