R v Nedrick [1986] 1 WLR 1025

Court: Court of Appeal

Facts: D, holding a grudge against a woman, poured paraffin through her letterbox and set it alight. A child in the house died as a result of the fire. D was charged with murder, but he argued that he did not intend to kill anyone.

Held: The Court of Appeal quashed D's murder conviction and ordered a retrial. Lord Lane CJ articulated the "virtual certainty" test, stating that the jury should only infer intention if they are satisfied that death or serious injury was a virtual certainty as a result of D’s actions and that D foresaw this as a virtual certainty.

💡Levelup: This case set the foundation for the "virtual certainty" test, which was later refined in R v Woollin.