Hunnisett, Crystal

Crystal Hunnisett was tried at Lewes Crown Court in 2012 for the murder of Peter Bick. They pleaded not guilty and the judge directed the jury on issues of loss of control, self-defence and diminished responsibility.

Mx Hunnisett was convicted of murder in May 2012 and sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 18 years.

They tried to appeal against conviction in 2015 but were unsuccessful. They were transferred from prison to a secure hospital in 2018 and, in May of that year, they applied to the CCRC.

Having reviewed the case in detail, including having obtained and considered new psychiatric opinion, the CCRC decided to refer the case for appeal.

The referral was based on new expert evidence indicating that Mx Hunnisett was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia at the time of the killing.

This raised a real possibility the Court would quash the murder conviction and replace it with one for manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

The CCRC referred the conviction in December 2019.

The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in March 2021.