I think if the conviction is manslaughter there will be an appeal and it might have a good chance of succeeding.
The prosecution's case for murder is PR asphyxiated Libby. This is not, imo, compatible with manslaughter.
If we go down the manslaughter route with no asphyxiation wouldn't the prosecution have made that a scenario for deliberation, and not leave it to the judge to give very short directions because it hasn't been explained to them as a scenario before her summing up?
IMO we get into a lot of difficulty with PR expecting Libby to come to harm on her own after raping her and leaving her in the same state (in terms of drunknenness and hypothermia - not state of mind) he found her in, albeit in a different location.
There is the alleged difficulty in getting into the river.
Did he in fact increase her vulnerability by leaving her near a river?
By questioning PR on Libby's vulnerability I suspect the prosecutor was trying to enhance the seriousness of the rape for sentencing purposes. But I don't think it was to push them towards a manslaughter verdict.
The prosecutor even said this to PR -
"
Mr Wright asked: “That girl was wearing a mini skirt as she was sitting on the pavement shivering in that weather - is that right?
“That girl crying, shivering, cold, was injured because she had a cut to her knee, is that right?
“That girl, according to you, was so drunk she was almost walking out into the traffic on the road, is that right?”
Pawel Relowicz returns to witness stand as week two of trial ends
I go back to the judge's summing up -
Manslaughter verdict an option
Justice Lambert has told the jury it has occurred to her manslaughter is an option for the verdict but it has not been explained.
She said: “There is no count of manslaughter on the indictment but it can be returned as an alternative verdict to murder.
“That would arise if you were sure Pawel Relowicz assaulted Libby Squire and it caused her death in the sense it made one or more contributions to her death and whether he intended it to.
"If the answer is no, the verdict will be not guilty of murder but you should consider whether that person intended to cause some harm and then if you are sure of that you will return a guilty verdict of manslaughter."
Libby Squire murder trial updates as jury consider verdict
I submit there might be a bit missing from the reporting before she says "if the answer is no" - along the lines of 'are you sure Libby was asphyxiated by the defendant?'
I think it's clear that PR's intention is key in deciding manslaughter, and it would be hard to say he intended Libby to stray into the river.
Unless they are confident he pursued her there, or carried her there, which would be murder, IMO. I don't see manslaughter sticking in this case.
MOO