Michael Weir (born 1966) is a British double

murderer Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...

and serial burglar who was the first person in British history to have been convicted of the same crime twice. In 1999, he was jailed for the murder of 78-year-old war veteran Leonard Harris. Weir's conviction was quashed a year later at the Court of Appeal on a technicality, only for him to be re-convicted in 2019 in a '

double jeopardy In jurisprudence, double jeopardy is a procedural defence (primarily in common law jurisdictions) that prevents an accused person from being Trial, tried again on the same (or similar) charges following an acquittal or conviction and in rare ...

' case after new evidence was found. Weir was also convicted in 2019 of the murder of 83-year-old Rose Seferian, who was also killed during a burglary five weeks after Harris, which made additional history as the first time a second murder charge was added to a double jeopardy case. Upon Weir's conviction at the Old Bailey in December 2019, judge Justice McGowan told the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

that they had made "legal history".

Crimes and trials

Michael Weir was a serial burglar from Hackney in east London. On 28 January 1998, Weir broke into the flat of Leonard and Gertrude Harris, stole a gold watch and ring, killed Leonard Harris and injured Gertrude Harris. Three days after the attack police found a palm print on the bedroom door, but missed a match with Weir at the time as the comparative sample was of poor quality. Five weeks later, on 5 March, Weir broke into the home of 83-year-old Rose Seferian, stole jewellery and cash, and attacked and killed Seferian. The police did not initially connect the two crimes. Weir was tried at the Old Bailey in 1999 for Harris's murder and found guilty, but in 2000 the Court of Appeal quashed his conviction on a technicality and he was freed. His conviction had been based upon DNA which police had erroneously kept on the police database, and the Court of Appeal decided that the trial judge had been wrong to admit this as evidence. The

Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal ad ...

missed the deadline to appeal the decision to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

. The Lords later found that in Weir's case the original decision to admit the DNA evidence had been correct, but a retrial was not possible until 2005 when the

law was changed in England and Wales to allow those acquitted of crimes to be re-tried if new and compelling evidence was found. In 2019 Weir was re-tried for Harris's murder after the palm print found at the scene at the time was finally matched to him and because new forensic techniques not available in 1998 revealed that his DNA was at the scene. He was also charged with the murder of Seferian after palm prints found on the window he broke in through were matched to him. Weir had no explanation for the forensic evidence and was convicted of Harris's murder again at the Old Bailey in December 2019, as well as for the murder of Seferian. Harris's daughter-in-law expressed her anger at Weir's original conviction having been quashed, saying: "The defendant has been allowed to get on with his life for 21 years". Judge Justice McGowan told the jury that they had made "legal history" for convicting a defendant a second time of the same crime.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weir, Michael 1998 in England 1999 in England 1998 in London 1999 in London 2000 in England 2000 in London Murder in London Criminals from London English people convicted of murder People convicted of murder by England and Wales Crime in London People acquitted of murder People from Hackney, London English prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment Living people 1998 murders in the United Kingdom British male criminals Overturned convictions in England Court of Appeal (England and Wales) cases 1998 in British law 1999 in British law 2000 in British law 2019 in British law People wrongfully convicted of murder Trials in London Murder trials Trials in England 1990s trials 2010s trials Old Bailey 1966 births

Crimes and trials

See also

References