Homicide
Tom Crowther KC is regularly instructed in homicide cases of the utmost seriousness and complexity. He has extensive experience defending allegations of murder and manslaughter involving disputed expert evidence and difficult questions of fitness to plead, causation and culpability.
He has particular expertise in cases engaging mental disorder, exploitation and vulnerability, including modern slavery and diminished responsibility.
Recent homicide work includes:
- R v Huntley – Defence in a nationally prominent murder case arising from the fatal shooting of Joanne Penney. The case required detailed forensic analysis of ballistic and firearms evidence and concluded by plea following consideration of expert material.
- R v Rashid – Defence in a murder prosecution founded on allegations of gang activity and joint enterprise. Tom successfully challenged the admissibility and probative value of drill lyrics, including material naming the defendant, and rebutted the Metropolitan Police’s reliance on a purported “super-recogniser” through facial mapping and expert analysis.
- R v Galek – Defence in a complex murder trial involving an alternative suspect case and highly prejudicial bad character evidence. Following two jury disagreements, the defendant was ultimately acquitted.
- R v Liversidge – Defence in a murder case in which modern slavery, exploitation and vulnerability were central to issues of culpability and sentence.
- R v Hassani – Defence in proceedings arising from the alleged murder of Ibrahim Yassin in Cardiff. Public reporting indicates that the case raises issues of mental disorder and diminished responsibility.
Serious Offences & Private Crime
Tom is regularly instructed in serious sexual offence cases, including rape, historic allegations and cases involving young or vulnerable complainants. His experience in this field includes both practice at the Bar and his former judicial work trying serious sexual offence cases.
As a Circuit Judge he was appointed as a Judicial College tutor in serious sexual offences. His work has given him particular experience of vulnerable witnesses, trauma-informed witness handling and the evidential and forensic difficulties which arise in allegations of sexual offending.
Tom also undertakes privately funded criminal work where allegations carry acute personal, professional or reputational consequences. Recent work has included:
- a half-time acquittal in 2026 for a serving member of An Garda Síochána charged with sexual assault;
- jury acquittal in a rape allegation involving young people in which the prosecution relied upon alleged confessional Snapchat messages;
- jury acquittal in proceedings concerning allegations of historic child sexual abuse notwithstanding evidence of contemporaneous complaints;
- acquittal on appeal in proceedings alleging serious familial violence where conviction would have had substantial personal and commercial consequences; and
- acquittal in proceedings alleging conspiracy to pervert the course of justice arising from a linked sexual offence prosecution and involving contested digital evidence.
Tom accepts privately funded and Direct Access instructions where appropriate.
Very High Cost Cases (VHCC)
Tom Crowther KC has extensive experience acting in Very High Cost Cases, including some of the largest and most complex criminal prosecutions brought in recent years. He is regularly instructed in multi-defendant conspiracies and large-scale frauds involving prolonged investigations and exceptional volumes of material. He is particularly experienced in managing very large disclosure exercises, including encrypted communications, international evidence and financial records running into hundreds of thousands of pages or many gigabytes, and in maintaining strategic focus in cases of exceptional scale.
His VHCC experience includes:
- Operation Venetic / Operation Green – Defence in a Very High Cost drugs conspiracy described at the time of conviction as the largest of its kind in the UK, involving sophisticated international offending and extensive encrypted communications across multiple jurisdictions.
- R v G – Defence in a large-scale, document-heavy fraud prosecution arising from long-term dishonesty within a solicitors’ practice, involving historic accounting records and disclosure running to hundreds of thousands of pages.
- Operation Vermont– Defence in a substantial and complex prosecution involving extensive documentary, financial and digital evidence and a prolonged investigation.