Belfast woman weeps in prison as judges overturn her murder conviction for killing abusive partner while he slept

From the Newshound archive · first published 2 October 2026 · last updated 3 October 2026.

Julie Ann McIlwaine, 35, wept during a video-link from Hydebank Prison as the Court of Appeal in Belfast quashed her murder conviction for stabbing James Joseph Crossley, 38, up to ten times while he slept. Judges found that jurors had been misdirected on her loss of control defence, with Lady Chief Justice Siobhan Keegan declaring 'we cannot be satisfied that the conviction is safe'. McIlwaine had been serving a minimum 12-year sentence following a unanimous guilty verdict in October 2024. Prosecutors now have two weeks to decide whether to seek a retrial; McIlwaine remains in custody in the meantime.

At the time of his death, Crossley was on bail over an alleged assault on McIlwaine and bound by a restraining order.

Earlier that night, Crossley had given McIlwaine an ultimatum — him or her family — before taking medication and falling asleep.

McIlwaine told police that thoughts of ending her own life had crossed her mind before she went to the kitchen, retrieved a knife and moved the couple's young child out of the bed.