Where the cause of death cannot be established, a conviction for murder may be unreasonable because it is not possible to identify what killed the deceased or whether that act was done with the requisite intent to cause death or grievous bodily harm, even where the evidence establishes extensive mistreatment and violence by the accused. In such circumstances, the rational hypothesis of manslaughter (death from reckless indifference or neglect) is not excluded. Additionally, where co-accused have successfully appealed their murder convictions on the basis that the requisite intent was not established, an appellant convicted as an aider under s 7(1)(c) cannot sustain a murder conviction, as aiding persons who lacked the intent for murder amounts only to aiding manslaughter.
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