Murder victims' families face agonisingly long waits for justice

Murder victims’ families face agonisingly long waits for justice as murder trial delays rise more than TENFOLD since 2015

• There were 63 murder trials not heard as planned on the set date last year
• The number has grown more than tenfold since 2015 and quadrupled since 2019 

Murder trial delays have risen more than tenfold since 2015, leaving victims’ families facing long waits for justice.

There were 63 murder trials not heard as planned on the scheduled date last year, up from just six eight years earlier, statistics show. 

This number has increased more than tenfold since 2015, and quadrupled compared to 2019.

Crown courts in England and Wales faced a near-record backlog in 2022, with 61,737 outstanding serious crime cases. 

Delays in the murder case backlog have meant the family of 21-year-old Gabriel Stoyanov, who was stabbed to death last year, have still not been able to bury him in his home country Bulgaria.

Delays in the murder case backlog have meant the family of 21-year-old Gabriel Stoyanov (pictured), who was stabbed to death last year, have still not been able to bury him in his home country Bulgaria

There were 63 murder trials not heard as planned on the scheduled date last year, up from just six eight years earlier, statistics show

Last night his mother Marianna Petrova said: ‘Gabriel’s remains have not yet been laid to rest due to the fact that I cannot have a final death certificate until the trial is over.’

Labour has pledged to lift restrictions on associate prosecutors working on such cases, so they could join the prosecutors in clearing the backlog. 

Shadow justice secretary said Steve Reed said: ‘That’s how we will prevent crime, punish criminals, and protect communities.’

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