‘Distressing’ CCTV of man run over four times is shown at Old Bailey murder trial
The victim was allegedly killed during a row over £40,000
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Jurors in a murder trial have been shown a “distressing” video of a driver of a car repeatedly and “deliberately” running over the victim.
The footage played in the Old Bailey on Wednesday (5 January) shows a BMW X6 being driven four times over John Avers, 47, in a supermarket car park.
Jurors were told that Mr Avers suffered “catastrophic” injuries when he was held down before being run over in Dagenham, Essex.
Bobby Ternent, 32, and his father Gary Ternent, 59, are accused of murdering Mr Avers shortly before midnight on 13 September 2020.
Before playing the footage, jurors were warned that the “vital evidence” of the incident made for “distressing viewing”.
Members of Mr Avers’ family left the court room while it was being played during the proceedings.
Prosecuting barrister William Emlyn Jones QC said Mr Avers had been picked up by the defendants in the luxury vehicle and driven to a nearby car park of a nearby Iceland supermarket.
The video, according to reports, shows a “scuffle” with Mr Avers thrown to the ground before he was run over the first time.
Police and paramedics were called to the car park on Whalebone Lane, Dagenham, at 11.43pm on reports of a collision between a car and a pedestrian. But Mr Avers was declared dead at the scene at 12.22am.
A post-mortem examination found he had suffered multiple injuries, including fractures to the skull, sternum, pelvis, left thigh, and 22 ribs.
Mr Emlyn Jones said: “What happened in the Iceland car park is that Bobby and Gary Ternent murdered John Avers by deliberately driving that BMW X6 straight at him, running him over.
“With Bobby Ternent at the wheel, and Gary Ternent holding John Avers down on the ground in front of the car, John Avers was run over once, then Bobby Ternent spun the car around and ran over him again.
“Gary Ternent then ran to join his son in the car before they then ran their victim over a third time – and a fourth time.
“Only then, no doubt satisfied that they had done enough damage, that they drove away, leaving John Avers dying or more likely already dead from the catastrophic injuries they caused him.”
The younger defendant changed his clothes at home and burnt the vehicle, which had false plates – the court heard.
Later, the father and son were picked up on CCTV talking about what had happened, prosecutors said.
The son allegedly said the victim “might be crippled,” to which his father replied: “Right, we gone over him three times.”
Following the defendants’ arrests, Bobby Ternent admitted running over Mr Avers in a row over the cash, which he was said in court to have thrown away as he drove away from the car park.
Bobby Ternent had claimed that Mr Avers – who had been his friend – had asked him to look after £40,000 and then accused him of handing it back “short”.
Mr Emlyn Jones said Mr Avers had been “very successful” running a sash windows carpentry company. But, after his business suffered, he had to sell his million-pound house and his marriage fell apart.
The prosecutor suggested that regardless of what happened with the cash, having an argument over money and being threatened was not a defence to being accused of murder.
Mr Emlyn Jones said: “If Bobby Ternent deliberately ran over John Avers as he appears to admit he did, and as we can see anyway from the CCTV that he did, the prosecution say that makes him guilty of murder.”
What happened during the incident was “beyond doubt” because it was seen by local residents and captured on CCTV, Mr Emlyn Jones said.
The defendants – from Barking, in east London – have denied murder.