Guilty verdict in first double jeopardy trial

A MAN has been found guilty of battering a pensioner to death following Hampshire's first double jeopardy trial.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Feb 2016, 06:01 BST

Matthew Hamlen, 37, was tried for a second time accused of the murder of 77-year-old Georgina Edmonds.

Yesterday jurors at Winchester Crown Court found him guilty following a six-week trial.

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Mrs Edmonds, aged 77, was found murdered in her home on Kiln Lane, Brambridge, on January 11 in 2008.

In 2010, Hamlen, of Camborne Close, Eastleigh, was charged with her murder but found not guilty following a trial in January 2012.

In 2014, officers discovered new DNA evidence which linked Hamlen to the case, and following applications to the Court of Appeal, the acquittal was quashed and officers were able to charge Hamlen for a second time and bring him to re-trial.

Detective Superintendent, Dick Pearson, said: ‘Throughout this entire investigation we have been absolutely determined to prove, beyond doubt, who committed this horrific crime.’

Hampshire’s police and crime commissioner Simon Hayes said: ‘The conviction of Matthew Hamlen of having brutally murdered Georgina Edmonds eight years ago finally brings justice.’