On Wednesday 25 March 2026 the Court of Appeal (The President of the King’s Bench Division, Wall and Mansfield JJ) handed down written judgment dismissing an appeal against a conviction for murder: R. v. Thomas [2026] EWCA Crim 353.
Mark Heywood KC and William Davis KC represented the Crown on appeal in the notorious case of Nicole Thomas (previously Nicola Edgington), who was convicted in 2013 of murder and attempted murder in the street in Bexleyheath after a five week trial at the Central Criminal Court. The Court of Appeal refused leave to appeal against the convictions later that year. Mark Heywood KC had also led for the Crown in the 2013 proceedings.
Ms Thomas had previously been convicted of manslaughter in 2006 having killed her mother but was released from secure conditions in 2009.
The 2013 conviction for murder was referred to the Court of Appeal by the Criminal Cases Review Commission in 2023 on the basis of fresh evidence alleging that the prosecution psychiatric evidence at trial was erroneous and misleading. After a two day hearing in which the fresh evidence was considered in detail and examined, the Court of Appeal declined to receive it formally, because it afforded no good ground for allowing the appeal. The appeal was dismissed.
Counsel were instructed by the Appeals and Review Unit, part of the Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division of the Crown Prosecution Service.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66842327
