attempted murders committed by abused women, a lawyer said.

Mr. Delroy Duncan, who defended a woman acquitted by a Supreme Court jury last week of attempting to murder her boyfriend by setting him on fire, said the case would have "significant ramifications'' for other cases involving provocation.

"Without a doubt this is a precedent-setting case,'' Mr. Duncan said.

Veronica Leslene Dill, 26, of Farmstead Lane was found innocent of attempted murder, grievous bodily harm with intent to burn and arson.

Mr. Duncan said it was significant that Chief Justice the Hon. Mr. Justice Austin Ward allowed Dill to give evidence about physical, sexual, and mental abuse she had suffered at the hands of her boyfriend, Graham Robert Stancliffe, 32.

Mr. Duncan said the slow burn theory describes persons who are pushed to defend themselves because of events taking place over a prolonged period of time, rather than all at once.

Although the case had not been particularly challenging, he was aware there would be "significant ramifications on the law of provocation'' before it began.

Unlike a case in which someone snaps and there is a sudden loss of control, Dill experienced a build-up of emotion that was triggered on October 13, 1993 by a final act of abuse, he said.

In response to the concern that copycat attacks on spouses might occur, Mr.

Duncan said without the recognised mental condition that Dill suffered from, any would-be copycatters would have no defence.

"The Battered Woman's Syndrome has been psychiatrically recognised,'' Mr.

Duncan said. "It's up to the psychiatrist to establish if a woman has it.'' Mr. Duncan said the public needs more education on the Battered Woman's Syndrome and its effects.