Charges of murder and rape are not 'related offences' under s 3(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic) merely because they share a common victim and relationship evidence is relied upon in proof of both. The 'facts' upon which offences must be 'founded' for the first limb are the facta probanda, not the evidence adduced to prove them. Relationship evidence common to proof of multiple offences is evidence, not a material fact of the offences. The threshold for departing from the practice of not joining other charges with murder is 'cogent reasons', not 'exceptional circumstances'.
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