A Lincoln Crown Court jury has heard conflicting evidence about threats and an alleged car pursuit in the days before Sean Burlton drowned after a crash near Spalding.
Mr Burlton, 28, was a passenger in a Ford Focus which left the road and entered a water-filled ditch on Counter Drain Drove, Tongue End, on November 24, 2023. Emergency services attended and firefighters freed him from the vehicle, but he had stopped breathing. A post-mortem examination confirmed that he had drowned.
Prosecutors allege the Ford Focus attempted to ram a Volkswagen Touran driven by Richard McMullon, the new partner of Mr Burlton’s former partner. They say the Focus entered the drain after trying to cut up Mr McMullon’s car on a left-hand bend further along Counter Drain Drove.
Evidence about messages and alleged threats
Mr McMullon told the court he became aware of Mr Burlton only after receiving threatening messages from him in the days before the fatal collision. He was giving evidence during the trial of Vanessa Gratton and Scott Biggs, who both deny conspiring with Mr Burlton to cause actual bodily harm to Mr McMullon between November 22 and 25, 2023.
The court heard there had been an ongoing dispute between Mr McMullon and Ms Gratton, 31, of West Parade, Spalding, concerning custody visits. Mr McMullon said he had split from Ms Gratton after a four-year relationship and had subsequently become the subject of a non-molestation order.
Under cross-examination by John McNally, the barrister representing Ms Gratton, Mr McMullon denied making threats to Mr Burlton. When asked why he would have been afraid of Mr Burlton, he replied: I didn’t know the guy to be scared of him.
Mr McNally also asked Mr McMullon about a message sent from his phone on November 21, 2023. The message read: Going to pay you to cause some carnage soon. The barrister suggested that Mr McMullon had been asking other people to threaten Mr Burlton. Mr McMullon replied: I don’t recall any of that.
Mr McMullon denied going to Ms Gratton’s home two days before the crash to find Mr Burlton. He also told the court: I’ve not offered him a fight in any of my messages.
Prosecution account of the vehicle pursuit
Prosecutors allege that Mr McMullon was followed by the Ford Focus and a Vauxhall Insignia after leaving a contact visit centre in Spalding on the afternoon of November 24, 2023. The jury heard that the Focus was driven by Bailey Fitzgerald, 29, of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck. Max Prior, 21, of London Road, Spalding, was allegedly a passenger, along with Mr Burlton.
The prosecution says Sam Johnson, 26, of Johnson Avenue, Spalding, was driving the Vauxhall Insignia, which was also allegedly following Mr McMullon’s car. The court heard that Sam Clift, 35, of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck, Josh Copnell, 22, of Rose Lane, Pinchbeck, and Mr Biggs, 33, of Spalding Common, Spalding, were passengers in the Insignia.
Jurors have also heard a 999 call made by Mr McMullon as he was allegedly pursued down Counter Drove Drain by the Focus and Insignia. The prosecution’s case is that the Focus later entered the water-filled drain while attempting to cut up the Touran.
Trial continues
Ms Gratton and Mr Biggs deny the allegation that they conspired with Mr Burlton to cause actual bodily harm to Mr McMullon. The evidence about the alleged threats, the vehicles and the circumstances of the crash is being considered as part of the continuing trial.
The case continues at Lincoln Crown Court.