Nicola Taybarn was a barrister and Queen's Counsel member who represented the case supporting Fiz Stape during her murder trial heard at Weatherfield Crown Court in October 2011.
During the trial, when prosecutioning barrister Andy Hunter was questioning Brian Packham, Taybarn protested when Hunter used the fact that Fiz's home was just yards away from the Underworld factory where Colin Fishwick's body was found against her. The Judge's reaction was to berate Hunter.
Taybarn later questioned Charlotte Hoyle's mother Dorothy. Taybarn reminded her of the fact that Fiz had saved her and Alan from her husband John, who had locked them in their own cellar.
Taybarn later protested again when Hunter, whilst questioning Joy Fishwick's solicitor Ben Dean, pointed out the fact that Fiz knew the real Colin wasn't going to turn up when she posed as Mrs. Fishwick at Joy's will reading, as according to Hunter she knew he was dead because she and John had murdered him. She once again protested when Hunter, after questioning Fiz's friend Hayley Cropper, concluded that Fiz had assisted John in murdering Colin whilst being absent from a party for twenty minutes or so. Taybarn also questioned Hayley, and pointed out that Fiz was concerned about a "juvenile prank" after Hayley told her that Fiz was annoyed when she returned to the party as her brother Chesney had spiked the punch with alcohol.
When Taybarn questioned forensic expert Dr Goodridge, she concluded that fibres found on Colin's body could have been transferred at any point, possibly when Fiz helped John move the body. Hunter protested at this but the judge defended Taybarn. She also concluded that the prints left on Joy's GTN spray by Fiz could have been transferred when Fiz helped her by passing it to her, rather than Fiz taking it away from her to cause her to die.
After an interval in the trial, Taybarn interviewed Rita Sullivan about what she saw on the night Colin Fishwick died. She claimed she saw John trying to move a large rug which allegedly had Colin's body wrapped in it, and that Charlotte was helping him. John had apparently claimed that Charlotte was a work colleague to whom he was giving the carpet. However, Rita claimed that she did not see Fiz involved in the incident at all - she was at Chesney's birthday party. Taybarn also talked to Chesney, who did his best to support his sister, but Hunter later made out that he was lying to protect her.
Fiz was eventually found not guilty of the murders of Joy and Charlotte but guilty of Colin's murder. At Fiz's sentencing, Taybarn pleaded to the Judge to reconsider the verdict by mentioning John's recent deathbed confession but he dismissed her and sentenced Fiz to life imprisonment with a minimum of fifteen years behind bars.
- The character was credited as "Nicola Taybarn QC" in her first four appearances.
List of appearances[]
2011