Summary Of R Vs Dobinson

Case Brief

Parties Involved: R v Stone (John Edward Stone) and R v Dobinson (Gwendoline Dobinson)

Facts: The appellant, Stone, a seriously disabled man who was partially deaf, almost fully blind and of a below average level of intelligence lived in a house with his mistress, Dobinson, and his son. Stone’s son, Cyril, was also mentally ill. In 1972, Stone’s sister Fanny, an elderly woman of 61 years moved in with them and occupied a small room at the front of the property. She contributed £1.50 per week towards rent for the house. Fanny was obsessive in regards to her weight and was anxious about gaining too much weight and as a result of this, deprived herself of meals. Fanny would sometimes not venture outside of her room for a series of

Dobinson had confided in the licensee, Emily West, that she was concerned that Fanny refused to eat, drink, wash, or go to the toilet. Dobinson was then advised to contact the local doctor. As neither Stone or Dobinson were capable of telephoning the doctor, a neighbour attempted to do so, however this proved unsuccessful. On the 2nd of August 1975, Dobinson found Fanny dead in her bedroom. The police were called and upon their arrival they noticed that the room Fanny occupied was without ventilation, the window would have to be hammered open and due to the position of the bed, the bedroom door could not be fully opened. When the cause of Fanny’s death was being determined, pathologist Dr. Usher stated that her body was: “ulcerated over the right hip joint and on the underside of the left knee; in each case the ulceration went down to the bone. There were maggots in the ulcers. He found pressure sores over the back of the right shoulder, the outside of the left kneecap to the underside of the left knee, over the right hip joint, to the inner aspect of the left shin and on the left instep where the body had been lying.” Dr. Usher continued to state that: “If two weeks prior to my seeing the body she had gone into hospital there is a distinct possibility that they may have saved