Oliver Campbell: Brain-damaged man who was jailed for life over murder has conviction quashed
A brain-damaged man jailed for life for murder as a teenager has had his conviction quashed by the Court of Appeal.
Oliver Campbell was jailed in 1991 for murdering shopkeeper Baldev Hoondle in Hackney, east London.
He was interviewed without a lawyer after his arrest and later convicted of murder and robbery while a friend, Eric Samuels, was found guilty of just the robbery.
Three judges ruled on Wednesday that Mr Campbell’s conviction was “unsafe”.
Mr Campbell’s lawyers claimed his trial jury was not told the full extent of his mental health issues, nor did it hear evidence another man had been named as the gunman.
Mr Campbell suffered brain damage as a baby
On the eve of his appeal in February this year Mr Campbell, who is free on licence, told Sky News: “If I win the choke chain that’s been around my neck for 33 years will come off, but I’m not free yet.
“I’m still a prisoner of the criminal justice system, still under the Home Office because they can recall me to prison any time.”
Asked why he had confessed to detectives who took him in for questioning, he said: “I was under police pressure, under duress. It was like someone putting you in a room and there’s no way out of it. I felt vulnerable, 100%.
“If they had done their homework they would have realised I was wrongly arrested, wrongly convicted and wrongly jailed.”
Baldev Hoondle was shot in the back of the head in his east London shop. Pic: Metropolitan Police
His legal team said: “Oliver suffered severe brain damage as a baby.
“His intelligence is borderline defective with an impaired capacity to process or remember more than the simplest verbal information, severely restricted reasoning skills and poor concentration and memory.”
Part of the evidence against Campbell was his hat, which was found at the scene and he admitted was his but had been taken off him by someone several days before the robbery.
The hat contained hairs but none of them belonged to Mr Campbell.
The gunman was also said to be right-handed, while Mr Campbell is left-handed.
The crime scene. Pic: Metropolitan Police
The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) previously referred Mr Campbell’s case to the Court of Appeal, arguing his conviction should be quashed.
He had lost his first appeal, had a second application for appeal turned down by the CCRC but then persuaded it he did have a good case.
Mr Campbell was freed on licence in 2002 and has been living under restrictions meaning he needs permission to get a job and is prevented from travelling abroad.
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Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Bourne and Mrs Justice Stacey, said the rulings might be different “in the light of fresh evidence”.
“A jury knowing of the fresh evidence would be considering the reliability of those confessions in a materially different context,” Lord Justice Holroyde added.
“In those circumstances, we cannot say that the fresh evidence could not reasonably have affected the decision of the jury to convict.”
The Metropolitan Police issued a statement responding to the ruling: “The murder of Baldev Singh Hoondle in July 1990 was fully investigated by detectives at the time with a range of evidence brought before a jury who convicted the defendant the following year.
“We are aware of today’s decision by the Court of Appeal in relation to Mr Campbell’s conviction. We await the full Judgement and will review these findings. We will continue to provide support to Mr Hoondle’s family.”
UK
Family of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe pay tribute to ‘beautiful soul’ as teen appears in court charged with murder
The family of a nine-year-old girl stabbed to death have said she was a “beautiful soul” who was brave, kind-hearted and “always put a smile on people’s faces”.
Police were called to Lime Close in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, just before 6.10pm on Monday, where Aria Thorpe had suffered a single stab wound.
The child was pronounced dead at the scene.
In a tribute released by Avon and Somerset Police on Friday, the girl’s family on her mother’s side said: “For those who didn’t have the privilege of knowing Aria, she was the most beautiful little soul – happy-go-lucky, full of light, and joy.
“She loved to sing and dance, and she took such pride in dressing up, always wanting to look just like her mummy.”
Tom Thorpe, the girl’s father, said: “It’s hard to put into words how devastating it is, our little Aria, that you’re up there with the angels looking over us.”
It comes as a 15-year-old boy charged with Aria’s murder appeared in court.
Pic: Avon and Somerset Police
Aria was a ‘precious girl’
In their statement, Aria’s family on her mother’s side said her death “has devastated us beyond words”.
“Our hearts are broken in a way we never imagined possible,” they added.
“As a family, we are holding one another close and doing everything we can to support each other through this unimaginable time.”
They said they were “truly touched by the lovely messages we have received”, before asking “that our privacy is respected, as we try to come to terms with the terrible loss of our precious girl”.
Flowers laid in memory of the young girl
‘Wacky ways and outright madness’
Mr Thorpe said: “How sad it’s going to be not hearing ‘Dad, how long left?’ on our long journeys back and forth at weekends.
He then said that Aria was “such a brave, kind-hearted and a beautiful innocent soul”, and “always put a smile on people’s faces with your wacky ways and just outright madness”.
Mr Thorpe added: “Your other little family down here in Portsmouth will forever miss you.
“We’ll miss you begging to go outside, even in the pouring rain just to have as much fun as possible in the little time we had at weekends.
“You will be greatly missed, you special little angel. A life gone far too early but I hope a life lived well. We all love you dearly. Goodnight darling.”
Teenager in court
Meanwhile, a 15-year-old boy charged with Aria’s murder appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, where he was remanded.
The teenager, who cannot be named because of his age, was arrested in the Somerset village of Worle at 6.19pm on Monday.
He is next due in court on 16 March 2026. Appearing via video link from youth detention accommodation, he spoke only to confirm his name.
Judge Peter Blair KC set a provisional trial date for 15 June during the hearing.
A teenager charged with the murder of nine-year-old Aria Thorpe will stand trial in June next year.
The 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared at Bristol Crown Court on Friday.
The defendant, who appeared via video link from youth detention accommodation, spoke only to confirm his name.
During a brief hearing, Judge Peter Blair KC, the Recorder of Bristol, set a provisional trial date for 15 June 2026.
The trial is expected to last two weeks.
Avon and Somerset Police were called to Lime Close in Weston-super-Mare just before 6.10pm on Monday, where nine-year-old Aria had suffered a single stab wound.
Flowers laid in memory of the young girl
The boy was arrested in nearby Worle a short time later.
His father was among those attending in the public gallery.
The teenager is next expected to appear in court on 16 March.
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