Barrister says ‘dead woman was put on trial’ after husband cleared of manslaughter
A barrister has suggested that a “dead woman was put on trial” in the case of Christopher Trybus, who was cleared of manslaughter by a jury,Charlotte Proudman’s comments came after Trybus was found not guilty by a jury of eight women and four men, who deliberated for more than 40 hours,He was acquitted of all charges: manslaughter, coercive and controlling behaviour and two counts of rape,The case had been brought after his wife, Tarryn Baird, 34, took her own life in 2017,Prior to her death, she made allegations that Trybus had been abusive to her.
Trybus’s defence argued that Baird had made false allegations because she was “bored and lonely”, and because she had been “desperately seeking help” for her mental health issues, “and feeling she wasn’t receiving it and she may have become addicted to the attention that her allegations brought”.Trybus, 44, denied all of the charges and said he had been unaware of his wife’s allegations before her death.He told the court: “I feel bad she was in such a place that she was saying these things – what was going through her mind?”He said that the day Baird had died was “the worst day of my life, just absolutely terrible, I don’t know how else to describe it”.Baird had lived with PTSD from witnessing violent incidents in South Africa where the couple had lived before they moved to the UK, and had taken several prescription drug overdoses in the months leading up to her death.Trybus told the court that he could not have caused some of the injuries Baird had presented to doctors with, as he was not in the country at the time.
After the trial, Proudman criticised Trybus’s defence for aspects of its closing speech.The defence had questioned how Trybus was “supposed to answer the allegations of a ghost from 10 years ago”.It described the case as “Kafkaesque”, and suggested the prosecution had “an agenda”.Trybus’s barrister, Katy Thorne KC, said: “They are totally obsessed with a dogma, this whole case is based on an agenda that when women allege violence and domestic abuse, they must be telling the truth.”Proudman said she felt the comments meant that a “dead woman was put on trial”, while “the defendant faded into the background”.
Thorne said Proudman’s remarks did not “accurately reflect what was said to the jury” and showed a “limited understanding of the facts of the case”.Shesaid Proudman, who practises family law, had not been in court to hear evidence during the trial.Trybus’s defence argued the case had echoes of the French Revolution, where innocent people had been swept up by a cause that was ultimately trying to achieve a positive aim, and compared Trybus to Mr Cellophane from the film Chicago, likening Baird to Roxy, a murderer who manipulates her husband.Thorne also made a direct appeal to the men on the jury, saying: “You might feel very afraid now, because if you enter into a relationship with a woman who’s making allegations against you, even if they turn out to be untrue, you will be prosecuted even if the allegations are uncredible, you will be prosecuted.”Proudman said: “[The defence] claimed there is an ‘agenda’ to believe women by the criminal justice system when in fact it barely prosecutes rape and routinely retraumatises victims.
That claim is false and misleading.”She also criticised the defence for “telling male jurors to be afraid of false allegations”, saying they were “vanishingly rare” and represented less than 2% of reports made.In response, Thorne said: “This trial was prosecuted by the most senior prosecutor in the country and presided over by a senior high court judge whose background is in discrimination law.Had I said anything to the jury which was improper or did not reflect the evidence in the case, the prosecution and the judge would have objected.They did not.
“Dr Proudman was not present for any part of the trial and did not hear any of the evidence.Her comments do not accurately reflect what was said to the jury and show a limited understanding of the facts of the case.”However, Janaya Walker, the interim director of End Violence Against Women, said that many women were “treated as suspects” by the criminal justice system after dying by suicide.“Successive governments have rightly taken action to address the fact that the criminal justice system and courts are often a site of harm and retraumatisation … with high dropout rates and low prospects of justice.“However, we can see that harmful sexist beliefs about women are still widely prevalent, with women treated as suspects even after they’ve died by suicide – this includes a culture of disbelief and wrongful claims about false allegations, which are exceptionally rare.
”Although the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has yet to see a successful case in a jury trial for a prosecution of manslaughter after a suspected suicide related to domestic abuse, it has said it will consider bringing cases where there is evidence to do so.A spokesperson for the CPS said: “We respect the decision of the jury.They have heard all the evidence and come to their verdicts.”In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.
ie.In the US, you can call or text the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline on 988, chat on 988lifeline.org, or text HOME to 741741 to connect with a crisis counselor.In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14.Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.
org
Reflections on the Festival of Britain | Letters
Celebrating the legacy of the Festival of Britain 75 years on by considering “how art can bring people together in the darkest times” is a fine sentiment (Editorial, 1 May). But far too many in this country have no opportunity to share in that legacy. We need to recognise that this country is a very different place to that of 75 years ago – it is divided and more diverse. We are now a multicultural nation – but a fractured one.A possible solution to the many racist and prejudiced attitudes we see around us is to have another festival of Britain, but with a very different focus
‘Tisio peint? Or: Do you fancy a pint? | Letters
I was delighted to read Phil Coughlin’s nostalgic account of Spike Milligan’s border-straddling pub in Puckoon (Letters, 1 May).But, here in Wales, we have the real thing in the little village of Llanymynech in Powys, where the border between two nations goes through the Bradford Arms hotel. Sunday drinking was illegal in Wales until 1961, so customers would crowd into the private bar, which, being to the east of the border, was not under Welsh drinking laws. For the rest of the week, most customers were more comfortable in the public bar, on the west side of the border.Nowadays you can drink in whichever bar you like, and no, people will not start speaking Welsh the moment you go in
Colbert on McDonald’s supply chain concerns: ‘Perhaps this will finally show Trump the true cost of war’
Late-night hosts covered the ongoing war in Iran and how the Trump administration is refusing to focus on rising gas prices back in the US.On The Late Show, Stephen Colbert told viewers it was day 69 of the war with Iran and despite Trump’s “one-page peace offer” it remains ongoing.Republicans are hoping to get a deal before the midterms with more than eight out of 10 Americans struggling to cope with rising gasoline prices. “The other two Americans couldn’t talk right now because they were busy sucking gas out of their neighbour’s Subaru,” he said.The war is also affecting other supply chains with the McDonald’s CEO warning this week that it might affect the burger chain’s business
Historic Oxford cinema under threat as Oriel College refuses to extend lease
The survival of one of the UK’s oldest independent cinemas is under threat while its landlord, the University of Oxford’s Oriel College, refuses to extend its lease to allow what its director says are vital renovations.The Ultimate Picture Palace in east Oxford opened in 1911, and has entertained generations of students and residents, including the Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes. It sells tickets for its 106 seats through an old-fashioned box office window to patrons queueing on the street, and its screen is behind a manually opened curtain.After decades of instability, the UPP, as it is known by locals, recently became a community-owned business when more than 1,200 supporters raised funds to keep the cinema operating in the Grade II-listed building.But plans to secure its long-term future have been dashed by Oriel College’s reluctance to approve an extension that would allow further investments and renovations to take place
Jimmy Kimmel on Trump: ‘His list of threats is now longer than Kash Patel’s bar tab’
Late-night hosts discussed the Trump administration’s confusing messaging about the war in Iran and why fruit-flavoured vapes have suddenly become a Republican priority.On Jimmy Kimmel Live! the host spoke about the conflict in Iran and how the strait of Hormuz is still to be reopened.While Trump claims that the US is close to a deal, Kimmel said it was “still very much in flux, as in what the flux are we doing over there?”Trump has been issuing more threats this week, which led Kimmel to joke that “his list of threats is now longer than Kash Patel’s bar tab”.It’s meant that gas prices are still sky high, with California experiencing the highest in the country.This week will also see Marco Rubio being sent to “make nice” with the pope including asking him “why God didn’t answer his prayers for smaller ears”
Arthur Miller opens up about marriage to Marilyn Monroe in newly unearthed recordings
He was one of the greatest playwrights of the 20th century and she was one of the greatest actors. In newly unearthed recordings made over a period of nearly three decades, Arthur Miller opened up about his short-lived marriage to Marilyn Monroe, saying she wanted a husband who was a “father, lover, friend and agent,” and the child she longed for would have been an “additional problem”.In taped conversations with his friend and biographer Prof Christopher Bigsby, Miller said he had felt “death was always on her [Monroe’s] shoulder – always”. He had believed that if he did not “take care of her life” she would come to a “catastrophic end”.“One time I brought doctors to pump her out because she had swallowed enough stuff [drugs] to kill her,” he said
Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East
From fringe issue to the heart of politics: the UK Living Wage campaign marks 25 years of success | Heather Stewart
Google developers significantly misstate carbon emissions of proposed UK datacentres
Who is Louis Mosley, the man tasked with defending Palantir against its critics?
Woeful rabble v flag contenders: a tale of two AFL clubs in Western Australia
Daniel Dubois stops Fabio Wardley in bloody epic to win WBO heavyweight title