A Spalding woman has been cleared of involvement in a conspiracy to assault her former partner after the plan ended with the death of her new partner in a fatal car crash.
Vanessa Gratton, 32, of West Parade, Spalding, was found not guilty by a jury at Lincoln Crown Court after a two-day deliberation. The case concerned allegations that she conspired with Sean Burlton and others to cause actual bodily harm to Richard McMullon between November 22 and 25, 2023.
Sean Burlton, 28, drowned on November 24, 2023, when the Ford Focus in which he was a passenger left the road and entered a water-filled ditch on Counter Drain Drove, in Tongue End.
What happened on Counter Drain Drove
The court heard that the Ford Focus had attempted to ram a Volkswagen Touran being driven by McMullon, who was the former partner of Burlton’s new girlfriend. Prosecutors said McMullon was pursued down Counter Drove Drain by the Focus and a Vauxhall Insignia after leaving a contact visit centre in Spalding at about 3pm.
A 999 call made by McMullon was played to the jury. Prosecutors alleged that the Focus entered the water-filled drain after trying to cut up his car on a left-hand bend further along Counter Drain Drove.
Gratton and Scott Biggs, who was a passenger in the Insignia, both denied conspiring with Burlton to assault McMullon. After the jury found Gratton not guilty, Judge Simon Hirst told her: “The jury have found you not guilty. You are free to go.”
Gratton’s evidence to the jury
Gratton told the court she had been in a relationship with Burlton for about a month and was aware of aggressive messages between Burlton and McMullon. The court also heard there had been an ongoing dispute between Gratton and McMullon about custody visits.
She denied giving Burlton the location of the contact centre and insisted she had not helped with any plan to confront McMullon. Gratton said Burlton had been at her home the night before the crash when they believed McMullon might be outside.
“We weren’t sure but thought Richard was outside the front door because there was banging,” Gratton explained. “I was scared.”
She said Burlton went to look through the curtain before calling a friend, after which he went to the front of the property with others. Gratton told jurors that Burlton appeared angry and that she thought he wanted to confront McMullon.
“I said it was a bad idea because I was in a custody battle,” Gratton added.
Gratton said she reported the incident to police the following day and received calls from Burlton. She told the court he asked whether McMullon had tools in his car.
Asked by defence barrister John McNally how she felt when she heard what had happened, Gratton replied: “Heartbroken.” Under questioning from prosecution barrister Gordon Aspden KC, she denied being angry about her treatment by McMullon and rejected the suggestion that she knew Burlton was looking for him that day.
Biggs admits late role after jury discharged
Biggs, 33, of Spalding Common, Spalding, told jurors that he encountered Burlton and the other men after stopping at the Water’s Edge pub in Spalding on the afternoon of November 24. He said the group later moved to the Ivy Wall pub and that he tried to discourage Burlton from confronting McMullon in Spalding town centre.
“I told him he was being silly and he was going to get himself into trouble,” Biggs explained. He also said: “I said ‘it’s stupid, its dangerous, it could turn out really bad.’”
Biggs said Burlton told him not to be boring and that he used the word “nuclear” to describe the possible consequences. Jurors failed to reach a verdict on the conspiracy charge against him. After they were discharged, Biggs pleaded guilty to playing a late role in the conspiracy to assault McMullon.
Judge Hirst granted Biggs bail so a pre-sentence report could be prepared. He will be sentenced alongside the other defendants on a date yet to be fixed.
Other guilty pleas
Two men have already pleaded guilty to manslaughter in relation to Burlton’s death. Bailey Fitzgerald, 29, of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck, admitted driving the Ford Focus. Sam Johnson, 26, of Johnson Avenue, Spalding, admitted driving the Vauxhall Insignia.
Fitzgerald and Johnson also admitted a second charge of conspiring to commit actual bodily harm against McMullon between November 22 and 25, 2023.
Three other men have admitted the conspiracy charge: Max Prior, 21, of London Road, Spalding, who was a passenger in the Focus; and Sam Clift, 35, of Brownlow Crescent, Pinchbeck, and Josh Copnell, 22, of Rose Lane, Pinchbeck, who were passengers in the Insignia along with Biggs.
