Fresh evidence: Ordering of retrial: R v Sion Jenkins [2004] EWCA Crim 2047

The brutal killing of Billie-Jo Jenkins and the subsequent arrest and conviction of her foster father, Sion, hit the news headlines in the late1990s. Billie-Jo (V) was battered to death with an 18-inch metal tent peg whilst she was painting the patio doors at her house in Hastings, East Sussex on 15 February 1997. The appellant, who with his then wife had fostered V since 1992 and planned to adopt her, was charged with her murder and was convicted by a jury at Lewes Crown Court on 2 July1998. His conviction rested largely on forensic evidence where 158 spots of blood were found on his clothing. The prosecution contended that the pattern of the blood spatters was consistent with the attack, whilst the defence argued that the blood may well have been a result of her exhalation on being moved. The defence also advanced the argument that the murderer was in fact a prowler. Following the guilty verdict, sentencing the appellant to life imprisonment, the trial judge, Gage J,stated that the evidence against Sion Jenkins had been ‘compelling’, adding that ‘[t]hese bare facts are sufficient to show what a horrendous crime this was’.