Court told of party horror as man run over 'on purpose'

A MAN told police “I know what I've done, I've f***ed up” after killing his girlfriend's brother by running him over with his car.

- By ADAM EVERETT

Martin O’Donovan died aged 47 following the incident outside his sister's home on Stonyhurst Road in Woolton in April this year, which came during their mum's 70th birthday party.

Stephen Bates, of Herondale Road in Mossley Hill, went on trial at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, accused of his murder. The 42-year-old had only met his victim earlier the same day, but is then said to have issued threats to kill him after a drunken punch-up before returning to the scene in his Ford Fiesta and “deliberately driving straight at him”.

Patrick Benson KC told a jury of three men and nine women during the prosecution’s opening: “Martin O'Donovan, the deceased, was born on 21 October 1977. He would have been celebrating his 48th birthday today, had his life not been cut short in April of this year. This sad case is all about the circumstances in which Martin O'Donovan lost his life.”

The court heard that Bates attended his girlfriend Susanne Lewzey's home on Stonyhurst Road on the evening of April 18 for her mum's 70th birthday party, with Mr O'Donovan and another sister of his, Natalie O'Donovan, being among the other guests. But Mr Benson said: “What started off as a happy family occasion was to end in the catastrophic death of Martin O'Donovan.

“There will be no dispute in this case that Martin O’Donovan’s death was caused by the defendant. He has previously admitted the offence of manslaughter. The prosecution say, however, that his guilty plea to manslaughter does not reflect the criminal responsibility of the defendant, Stephen Bates.

“The prosecution say that Stephen Bates murdered Martin O’Donovan and, at the time that he killed Martin O'Donovan, he intended to kill him, or, at very the least, to cause him really serious harm.