Elizabeth Marsh KC is a leading criminal silk specialising in murder, serious violence, financial crime, sex and drugs offences.
While enjoying the unique aspects of every case and client, the challenges of the new bring out the best in Elizabeth. For instance, in the high profile case of EC she had to develop a detailed knowledge of parachute jumping and the construction of parachutes and gas valves. Her client care is considered exceptional.
Background and Expertise
Elizabeth was a pupil and then tenant, in the same Chambers, which at the time was resident in 4 Brick Court, before the set moved to 9 Bedford Row in 2000. A transformation for which she co-ordinated the funding and moved the entire business into premises while acting as Chambers Treasurer. As a leading criminal barrister, she has covered the complete range of serious criminal allegations: with experience of Police; Homicide; Contract killing; Human trafficking – including the death of 58 Chinese migrants and modern slavery; every complexion of sexual offences – recent and historic; drugs and fraud. Elizabeth has considerable experience of dealing with young defendants and those suffering mental health issues and has extensive experience of cross-examining witnesses of all ages and presentations.
Notable Cases
SRA, 2015
Solicitor pleaded guilty to conduct likely to bring the profession into disrepute, prior to instruction of QC. After instructing Elizabeth - at hearing: plea of guilty set aside and tribunal ruled no case to answer.
R v G, 2015
Businessman who had defrauded Post Office of a sum alleged to be £35,000. Plea of guilty - Conditional Discharge.
Chelmsford Crown Court
R v F, 2011
Multiple conspiracies to rob cash in transit. Elizabeth for 1st and principle defendant mounted legal arguments in relation to disclosure failures. During the course of five weeks the Judge gave Prosecution opportunities to remedy shortcomings. After one series of submissions HHJ stayed counts which prosecution were least likely to be able to remedy. At next stage, HHJ stayed all counts of conspiracy to rob. A second indictment of multiple burglaries of high value stores was also stayed.
Central Criminal Court
R v J
Elizabeth prosecuted the lawyer for the bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi – accused of falsifying documents guaranteeing substantial loans to an individual – convicted and imprisoned.
Southwark Crown Court
R v K (operation JOY)
Elizabeth prosecuted a group of criminals for a variety of dishonest matters, who had a complex history of evading prosecution. Witnesses threatened, houses torched, defendants after every avenue exhausted – all pleaded guilty.
Shrewsbury Crown Court
Bribery and CorruptionRettendon murders: Essex Boys
Represented the ‘supergrass’, also involved in follow-on drug importation trial at Woolwich CC. New identity and release from custody, with special permission from Home Office negotiated.
Central Criminal Court
R v K, 2016
K was a foreign national who was in business as a diamond dealer. His British girlfriend collected substantial quantities of cash. An observation operation was mounted by police and she was eventually arrested carrying over £100,000 in cash. A search of his London premises discovered a similar sum of money, and detailed records which enabled the Prosecution to identify sums in excess of £55m as having been ‘laundered’ in the previous two years. Elizabeth successfully applied for witnesses from abroad be permitted to give evidence via Apple FaceTime as no secure video link was available.
Central Criminal Court
R v S
Not guilty cheating the Revenue, having accepted money laundering (carrying £1m cash when arrested).
Canterbury Crown Court
R v M
Elizabeth represented a company prosecuted for multiple breaches of Trading Standards. After her cross examination of the primary prosecution witness, the Judge invited the Prosecution to review the case, upon which they offered no evidence on the main counts.
Financial CrimeR v B, ‘Supergrass’ represented (evidence in multiple trials)
Defendant charged with supplying bomb making equipment and firearms to IRA and ‘underworld’ criminals. New identity negotiated and sentence of release from custody at the conclusion of all trials.
Central Criminal Court
R v L, 2016
L pleaded guilty to 2 counts of administering a noxious substance to two store detectives who stopped him for theft, after CCTV showed him spraying illegal PAVA in their face requiring hospitalization, and time off work, one being so affected he terminated his employment. Suspended sentence of imprisonment.
Southwark Crown Court
R v J, 2015
Trial of 4 accused of keeping ‘a slave’. Jury unable to reach a verdict and prosecution offered no evidence re J. Other 3 defendants convicted.
Oxford Crown Court
R V J, 2013
Multiple complainants of sexual slavery from Hungary, and sham marriages.
Wood Green Crown Court
R v VdP, 2020
Defendant charged with murder of his wife. After lengthy negotiations defendant pleaded guilty to murder. As a result of written and oral submissions, he was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum sentence of only 6 years.
Norwich Crown Court
Man jailed for killing terminally ill ex-wife at Norfolk home - BBC News
R v S and others, 2019
East London fatal shooting. Allegation of gang involvement excluded after legal argument. Motive alleged to be shooting of S’s cousin, weeks before, who survived, and gave evidence for the Prosecution. Cut-throat defence. S (Elizabeth’s client) found Not Guilty, Cut throat co-defendants D3 & D4 convicted of murder.
Central Criminal Court
R v S & others, 2019
S was engaged in the disguise of two cars used in the pursuit of man who was shot using at least three shotgun cartridges. Two sawn off shotguns recovered carried traces of S’s DNA, combined with film of him repeatedly attending the location where the guns were recovered on the day of the shooting.
Wolverhampton Crown Court
R v A, 2018
A was a drug dealer and gang member, who organized the disguised transport for his group to pursue and hunt rival gang members who had disrespected and embarrassed A’s fellow gang members who had to be rescued by the police.
Ipswich Crown Court
R v D, 2018
D accompanied a friend to a meeting to resolve a dispute. The friend produced two knives at the meeting and on CCTV D produced a machete, with which he chased and trapped the victim before he was stabbed.
Central Criminal Court
R v EC, 2017
Husband accused of attempting to murder his wife on two occasions – one by tampering with her parachute, one by trying to engineer a gas explosion – jury were unable to reach a verdict at the first trial. At retrial in 2018 he was convicted.
Winchester Crown Court
R v C, 2017
A 17 year old single mum, distressed at the interest her boyfriend was showing in another woman went, with a male friend, to the home address of the woman armed with a samurai sword and other weapons, filming and recording themselves as they did so. They smashed their way through the front door of the wrong (unoccupied) house, alerting neighbours, who called the police.
Snaresbrook Crown Court
R v S and others, 2017
East London gang fight, eleven stab wounds to deceased, two to another, second count of attempted murder. Eye witnesses, CCTV, DNA, telephone download analysis. Not Guilty.
Central Criminal Court
R v P, 2017
An American gang member living in UK, became engaged in a drug dispute which resulted in a man being shot, and losing his life.
Luton Crown Court
R v S, 2016
Historic case – 20 years before trial, a motorcycle gang member accused of shooting a man in the head, who had assisted in ejecting the motorcycle group from the public house. He still had the bullet lodged in his brain. Overwhelming evidence of identification and possession and use of firearm, but defendant had left the jurisdiction shortly after the incident. Jury convicted of unlawful wounding (after re-trial) – sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.
Warwick Crown Court
R v B, 2015
Defendant charged with murder of his (ex) wife; attempted murder of her sister, also the murder of his current partner. Defendant had refused to speak to solicitor, or junior counsel or QC – when case was returned to EM. EM attended uponthe defendant alone when solicitor and junior counsel refused, claiming it was “pointless” as he did not speak. After a short while on the first visit, Elizabeth having provided a document to B, highlighting the most significant aspects of evidence, the defendant spoke plainly and explained and discussed his case. He accepted responsibility and after all the usual complexities were in place, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to be detained in Broadmoor.
R v Y, 2015
Psychiatric nurse accused of gross negligence manslaughter, after incorrect medication administered. Defendant was herself suffering with mental health issues. Not Guilty.
Bristol Crown Court
R v T and others, 2014
Group attack after late night, alcohol - fuelled disagreement between two groups of men. T. alleged to have enabled (convicted) murderer to collect the murder weapon from T’s car. Not Guilty.
Central Criminal Court
R v L, 2014
A mature man joined a group including his younger brother to embark upon a ‘revenge’.
R v B, 2005 - Contract killing
Alleged shooter identified by multiple strands of evidence including CCTV; mobile telephone location; association to co-defendant and thereby links to the crime and links to deceased. Not guilty (co – def convicted)
Lewes Crown Court
(Murder of Mohammed Raja) Nicholas Van Hoogstraten trial
Represented Nicholas van Hoogstraten’s’s fixer who organized the killing of a business associate in contentious High Court civil proceedings.
Central Criminal Court
‘Damilola Taylor’ murder
Elizabeth’s client acquitted of all counts at first trial, two others were convicted of manslaughter after a retrial.
Central Criminal Court
Bar Standards Board, 2019
Barrister charged with multiple offences of inappropriate sexual conduct, against a civilian working as an expert for the police Not guilty all counts.
R v S, 2018
Allegations of many years of rape, physical and controlling abuse, by husband of wife. Not Guilty.
Northampton Crown Court
R v A, 2016
Allegation of historic sexual abuse by defendant upon (now ex) wife’s considerably younger sister. Complainant, her parents and ex-wife gave evidence for the Prosecution. Not guilty.
St. Albans Crown Court
R v K, 2016
Historic, repeated sexual assault of female child relative of family, now an NHS Doctor.
Southwark Crown Court
R v S, 2015
Allegations of repeated sexual abuse, by autistic defendant with high dependency upon counsel, upon his partner’s very young daughter. Not Guilty.
Worcester Crown Court
R v A, 2015
A charged with rape of intoxicated female (with complex mental health issues) after a night out. Not Guilty.
Oxford Crown Court
R v R, 2015
Rape and sexual assault of male and female of children aged between 2 and 9. Called Child psychologists to deal with memory issues of children.
Basildon Crown Court
R v B, 2004
Allegation of rape of senior civil servant by another senior civil servant after a party, in Government offices. The complainant originally refused to give evidence unless an order prohibiting all details of the allegation from being published was made. After a legal argument covering several days, the Judge declined to make the order. The complainant nevertheless, as Elizabeth predicted, gave evidence, but part way through cross examination refused to attend for further questioning, having faced ‘unanswerable’ questions. Prosecution sought to rely on her partial evidence. After hearing submissions from Elizabeth, HHJ refused. The complainant refused to return, and later refused to give evidence at a retrial. The Prosecution offered no evidence criticizing the Judge, who complimented Elizabeth.
Central Criminal Court
“Mr Justice Aikens paid tribute to the way the defence counsel, Elizabeth Marsh, had conducted her case. He said: "You conducted your cross-examination in a perfectly proper manner, with care, discretion and sensitivity. I do not wish it to be thought it was anything on your part that led to the discontinuation of the case."
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Achievements
- Gray's Inn