A man who was found guilty of murdering a woman stormed out of court as he heard the verdict. Stephen McHugh deliberately mounted the pavement and killed bystander Rebecca Steer outside a takeaway last October.
The man, who had taken cocaine and was boozed up after six beers and ten double shots of spirits, ploughed his Volvo on to a footpath in Oswestry, Shropshire, and crushed the 22-year-old underneath the vehicle as she died of "catastrophic" injuries, reports the Liverpool Echo.
A trial at Stafford Crown Court that lasted a fortnight found McHugh guilty of murder and trying to wound a male pedestrian who was also knocked down in the attack after he admitted manslaughter and assault. He claims he was attempting to frighten some pedestrians after an earlier altercation near the takeaway.
The court heard McHugh was driving a Volvo in Willow Street at about 2.45am on Sunday October 9 last year when CCTV footage showed the 28-year-old stopping the vehicle and confronting a group of people near the Grill Out takeaway.
Prosecutor Kevin Hegarty KC said: "At that moment Rebecca Steer was crossing Willow Street. All of a sudden, as she was crossing, the Volvo shot backwards. It narrowly missed her."
A jury, who deliberated for eight hours and 39 minutes over three days and returned an 11-1 majority verdict, was told how Ms Steer crossed to the opposite side of the street after avoiding being hit. Jurors were not told that McHugh has previous convictions related to drugs and the seizure of sawn-off shotgun in Merseyside in 2019.
Mr Hegarty added: "At that moment Mr McHugh turned the steering wheel in the direction of the people on the pavement and then he drove on to the pavement towards that group of people. The driver's side of the car went on to the kerb, on to the footpath, and he proceeded to drive through the group.
"We say he used his car as a weapon - he used the power and the weight of the car to strike the group. Rebecca Steer was more towards the front of the car and as the car increased its speed - as it went through the group, she was dragged down under the car."
McHugh's vehicle hit three people including two men who were said to have been "knocked aside" by the front wing of the Volvo.
"He was heard speaking in an aggressive way. You may well think the way he reversed the car, which was at speed and without regard to those around him, gives a clear insight into what he was thinking and what he intended to do," Mr Hegarty said.
"We say that was to strike his target whoever it was. We don't suggest Rebecca Steer was his target - she was in effect a bystander."
He was arrested on Monday October 10 in Shropshire and claimed he "didn't mean to hit anyone". The court heard a man had been left with a bloody nose at the hands of McHugh shortly before the incident. McHugh told the trial he was not angry with the group and had reversed to get alongside them to pick up a friend.
He told the jury: "I am not an angry person. I didn't really think about it. It was a moment of stupidity."
Upon hearing the verdict McHugh swore and stormed out of the court room. He will be sentenced on Friday May 5 by Mr Justice Andrew Baker.
Following the verdict, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Bellamy, of West Mercia Police, said: "This was a horrendous attack which tragically robbed an innocent young woman of her life while she was enjoying a night-out with friends. I'm pleased that justice has been done today for Rebecca and my thoughts remain with her family.
"I pay tribute to the dignified way that they have conducted themselves throughout the trial, displaying venerable strength and resilience in listening to the contemptible and narcissistic behaviour of McHugh, who continually lied throughout the trial in a desperate attempt to escape justice.
"I am grateful that the jury saw through his web of lies and convicted him on the evidence presented to them."
In a statement issued through West Mercia Police, Rebecca Steer's family thanked those who had helped to get justice for her death.
It said: "Rebecca Adelaide Steer, Becca to us, Becky to everyone else, was a pure joy to have as a daughter/sister and we all feel lucky to have had her in our lives, but we will always feel robbed. So many people have said how they feel so sorry for us, and that is only natural, and we are totally humbled by it, but the person people should be feeling sorry for is not us at all, it's Becca.
"We all get to live a life, but through no fault of her own whatsoever, her life was taken from her by a few seconds of someone else's stupidity. Her 13-year-old sister Kimberley summed it up perfectly in her letter to Becca at her funeral, she said: 'Becca was doing so well in life, and some stupid idiot stole her away from us'.
"Becca was and always will be 22 in our hearts, beautiful and amazing."
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