Regina v. Serné
England and Wales Crown Court, Central Criminal Court
16 Cox Crim. Cas. 311 (1887)
- Written by Angela Patrick, JD
Facts
Leon Serné (defendant), his wife, his two daughters and two sons, and a servant, John Henry Goldfinch (defendant), lived in Serné’s home, which had an attached shop. Serné was broke but had insured his business stock, furniture, and home and the life of his 14-year-old disabled son, Sjaak. Less than a month after Serné purchased this insurance, the premises burned down. Shortly after Serné and Goldfinch were seen in the shop together, witnesses saw several fires break out in both floors of the house at the same time, right near piles of highly flammable material. The fires spread quickly, but in a pattern that allowed Serné, his wife, and the daughters to escape via the roof and that allowed Goldfinch to be rescued from a window. However, the two sons died in the fire. One body was in the basement, and the other body was near the window from which Serné himself had escaped. Serné and Goldfinch were charged with Sjaak’s willful murder, on the theory that they had deliberately set the fire. This murder charge required showing that the men had acted with “malice aforethought.” When it came time to instruct the jury, the trial court had to determine how to define the malice-aforethought requirement for the jury.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Stephen, J.)
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