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ARTICLE · 06 MARCH 2017

Can you murder someone whos already dead? Which case won?

Stacks Law Firm
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Both lawyers said they had never encountered such a strange murder case, and could find no legal precedent to draw upon.

AustraliaCriminal Law
Jessica Mackay
Jessica Mackay
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Survivor claims that gun was fired accidentally

Earlier this year, a very unusual murder trial was heard in the Victorian Supreme Court. The events unfolded when two men got into a fight and struggled over a gun. The gun went off and one of the men was shot in the head. The survivor claimed that that shot was fired by accident.

The victim collapsed on the floor and the surviving man saw the body twitch and jerk. The record of the police interview with the surviving man sets out what happened next.

Q: All right. And what happened after that?
A: Well, I couldn't – I didn't know what to do so – yeah, I didn't want the bloke suffering so I shot him again, yeah, 'cause he wasn't dead. Yeah.

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