The case confirms the application of the M v The Queen test for unreasonable verdicts in the context of a circumstantial murder case involving competing expert evidence on cause of death. It reaffirms that under s 270 of the Criminal Code (WA), factual causation requires the accused's conduct to have been a cause of death (not necessarily the sole cause), and legal causation requires the conduct to have substantially or significantly contributed to death. The case illustrates how a jury may prefer one expert's evidence over another and reject hypotheses consistent with innocence where the totality of the evidence supports guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
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