The appellant had been convicted of the common law offence of kidnapping. He had gone to the address where his wife was living, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her unless she returned to live with him. Out of fear of the consequences she complied with his demand. The principal point on appeal was whether a husband could be found guilty of kidnapping his wife.
Held: A husband could be guilty of the common law offence of kidnapping his wife even though they were cohabiting.
Cairns LJ said: ‘We can find no reason in authority or in principle why the crime should not be complete when the person is seized and carried away, or why kidnapping should be regarded, as was urged by counsel, as a continuing offence involving the concealment of the person seized.’
Cairns LJ
[1973] QB 299, [1973] 56 Cr App R 703, [1972] 2 All ER 1350, [1972] 3 WLR 395, (1972) 136 JP 624, 116 Sol Jo 656
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Dean v Regina CACD 28-Jul-2021
The defendant appealed her conviction inter alia for kidnapping. The victim had been taken and brought to a car she drove, then taken out and severely assaulted. She said that the offence of kidnapping had been complete when he was brought to the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Updated: 10 October 2021; Ref: scu.581127
