Recent content by Rusty Braincells

I am fairly sure he took his own life, the reporting wouldn’t be so sparse if there was another possibility. This is surely not guilt for Parker — had he felt sorry, he would have taken his own life much sooner, as other parents who have lost their children in this type of incident have done —...

This trial has finally started today, I’m amazed it wasn’t delayed again. https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2025-10-06/man-stabbed-stepdaughter-and-her-husband-to-death-in-their-home-court-hears

Perhaps killing such a young child was simply a step too far for her, perhaps he was her favorite child and somehow she felt it was OK to hurt the others, perhaps he managed to get away somehow or hide. Perhaps she’s left him alive for some weird reason of her own. I wouldn’t be surprised if...

I’m reminded that however much a family annihilation may initially seem to have “come out of the blue,” it usually does not, and when the details emerge, it is hardly ever carried out by someone who otherwise led an upstanding life and just “snapped.” We outsiders logically try to find some kind...

I don’t think the future projected age of a prisoner at the end of his minimum sentence should be relevant to undue lenience. Plenty of people live to over 80, even in prison, and parole boards in the UK frequently allow release on a prisoner’s first or if not, second, application, which can be...

I completely agree and would urge a referral for undue lenience. The defendant did not plead guilty, was on the run, had committed previous violent offences and there were aggravating factors to this one. Minimum sentence should be more like 35 years, but the appeal courts rarely increase by...

I understand how sentencing guidelines work, but this crime just feels like it should be 40 years+. RIP Kulsuma.

I think he may attempt to appeal on the basis that his legal representation (himself) was so poor. I wouldn’t put anything past him.

The point is that the request for Archbold was all part of MG’s disruptive act in court; there is a lot of reporting about this. The judge, who is highly experienced and the current editor of that text, was very well-placed to know whether what MG was asking for was reasonable, or yet more...

I agree with you. And it’s also perhaps worth noting that the current editor of Archbold is… you guessed it… His Honour Judge Mark Lucraft KC. The judge will certainly have understood the request from MG.

The BBC says CM was “persuaded” to return from Ireland rather than forced. Court papers reveal Constance Marten and Mark Gordon’s failures as parents It is possible to enforce UK orders in the Irish courts, including family court judgements. It is more complicated since Brexit, but can be done...

Not definitive evidence either, again the subjective opinion of a lawyer, who is not a mental health professional. A lawyer recommending that their client see a psychiatrist may be protecting the client’s interests and/or discharging their duty to the court, but they might be wrong or reacting...

Not the OP, but I think it’s also subjective to think this was a mental health issue or a delusion, as opposed to simply two selfish people who couldn’t care less about their kids. We often look for bigger answers but some people just don’t care for their children the way they should, or are...

I’m not convinced that CM “lost her mind.” I have no idea what she was like before she met MG, but quite honestly she could just be a deeply unpleasant person and/or someone who makes extremely poor and selfish choices. Plenty of wealthy and privileged people fall in that bracket and, as...

IMO, Constance decided that Mark, and what Mark wanted, was paramount. Some of what was going on in her mind was no doubt down to coercive control, but all the same, Constance repeatedly chose Mark over her own children. It was open to her to leave him and, quite possibly, had she elected to...