British man acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter in Murcia
A jury in Murcia has rejected the claim that a 72-year-old retired British man deliberately killed his partner when he struck her with his car. He has been found guilty of manslaughter.
Acquitted of criminal intent, convicted of negligence
A jury in Murcia has determined that Michael Carter, 72, did not deliberately kill Vanessa Christofferson, 56, when his vehicle passed over her in December 2022. According to The Olive Press, the magistrates found no evidence that Carter drove with the intention of causing her death, nor that he took advantage of the victim's limited reaction capacity after consuming alcohol and tramadol.
However, the majority of the jury found him guilty of the lesser offence of manslaughter. The prosecution has requested a sentence of four years in prison — a figure far lower than the 25 years it would have sought had murder been proved.
Events of the night of 4 December
Carter maintained during trial that it was entirely accidental. He was reversing his BMW in front of his home in the Camposol urbanisation in Mazarrón after getting out to retrieve shopping bags that had fallen. Vanessa got out of the vehicle to prevent their dogs from escaping, but fell to the ground with her head hitting the kerb.
Carter did not see his partner and restarted the car to check if the house lights had come on. The left wheels passed over Vanessa's ankles. She died instantly.
The autopsy confirmed that her injuries were consistent with having been struck by a vehicle.
History of domestic violence
The victim's sister, who gave evidence by videoconference from Cardiff, revealed that Carter had repeatedly assaulted Vanessa both in the United Kingdom and in Spain, behaviour she attributed to the defendant's alcohol consumption. Vanessa reported her partner to police for domestic violence on five occasions between 2007 and 2014. Although protective measures were implemented, these expired in 2015 and there was no restraining order in force at the time of her death.
A neighbour testified that near midnight on 4 December he heard shouting outside. Upon going out, he found the victim lying on the road. "I tried to find a pulse, but there was none. She was very cold," he stated. He asserted that Carter told him that his partner had fallen and hit her head.
The female neighbour noted that rather than showing distress, Carter picked up some keys from the street and began hurling insults at the woman lying on the ground. He did not cry or touch her. When another neighbour told him that she was dead, he went into the house to look for a cigarette and she heard him tell his pets that their "mum was dead".
Another neighbour stated that Carter behaved "completely without compassion".
Imminent release
Carter has remained in custody for nearly four years. His lawyer has demanded his immediate release. Both the public and private prosecution are requesting that Vanessa's sister be awarded compensation of almost €22,000, although the defence argues that part of that amount has already been paid.
Source: The Olive Press