And then you see that:
An heiress found dead in a swimming pool was killed by her husband so he could gain access to her £4.4 million estate, a High Court judge has ruled, blocking him from inheriting it.
At a criminal trial in 2021, Donald McPherson was formally cleared of murdering Paula Leeson, his 47-year-old wife.
But following a civil case brought by Ms Leeson’s family, Mr Justice Richard Smith said the businesswoman had been unlawfully killed by her husband.
The ruling, delivered at the High Court in Manchester, will block McPherson from inheriting her estate.
During the criminal trial three years ago, jurors were told that McPherson, a property developer, had taken out seven life insurance policies before his wife’s unexpected death.
Hmm, well, yes…..
Also:
Born Alexander James Lang and originally from New Zealand, McPherson met Ms Leeson in 2013, using a “cover story” of being an orphan to hide his past after serving jail time for an £11 million bank fraud in Germany, a court previously heard.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/paula-lesson-husband-inheritance-unlawfully-killed-b2608339.html
Burden of proof is a lot lower in civil cases and even with Blair’s disgraceful cancellation of Double Jeopardy he probably could not be convicted.
This sounds like Double Indemnity.
Wondering how he got away with it in the criminal case, just asking for a friend of course
“Wondering how he got away with it in the criminal case”
I suspect the defense managed to get some of the evidence removed due to mishandling. Or a witness got cross-examined and made a mistake. Which introduced reasonable doubt.
Also: different juries in the different cases. A civil case is “only money”. As opposed to serious prison time for murder. And different standards – proven guilty or not proven guilty in criminal, liable or not liable in civil.