Jan Christofides

Jan Christofides was convicted of the murder of Peter Maffey who died as a result of a brain injury after getting hit over the head with a pool cue by him. He admitted hitting Maffey once but claimed it was in self defence. A co-defendant had charges against him dropped during the original trial. On appeal, the court noted that the case against the appellant was dependent on the use of the pool cue causing the death and this would have been negatived if the jury thought the co-defendant contributed to the death. The defence was influenced by the unexpected dismissal of the case against a co-defendant. The Court of Appeal quashed the conviction due to a sense of unease that the prosecution witnesses had not been fully tested in light of the dramatic change in the course of the trial.

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