A ‘DRUGGIE’ accused of Rebecca Steer’s murder in Oswestry broke down sobbing during his police interview, a court has seen.
Stephen McHugh, 28, and of Park Hall, has pleaded guilty to the 22-year-old’s manslaughter and causing Kyle Roberts actual bodily harm but denies murder and grievous bodily harm, respectively, and is on trial for both.
On day five of his trial at Stafford Crown Court, the jury was shown excerpts and read transcriptions of his three interviews with police from October 11.
In interviews one and two, he told officers ‘he was f*****g exhausted’ and remained silent to their questions regarding the incident in Willow Street on October 9, 2022.
He was draped in a blanket, eating and drinking, and appeared to be emotional but continued to refuse to answer questions.
READ MORE: LIVE: Day Five of Rebecca Steer murder trial
However, he began to lose control in the third interview when he was asked about why police had to "come to find him".
McHugh told the officers that he "wasn’t going to hand himself in for something so serious…I had to get my head straight…I’m not saying no more…".
The court was shown more video where McHugh said "I’m f****d anyway’ and that he didn’t ‘f*****g mean to do it, I’m not a killer'."
The defendant, originally from Liverpool, admitted that he drove the Volvo car at the crowd but insisted it was with the intention of scaring them.
In the video, the jury could see McHugh lose his temper and shouting "I never meant to do it…I don’t even know the girl (Rebecca Steer)…it’s my fault the girl is dead, because I’m a druggie…".
READ MORE: Rebecca Steer death crash driver 'had taken cannabis, cocaine and alcohol' - trial
More video from the interview was shown to the jury including McHugh sobbing loudly, stating that "he will lose his parents and his children over this".
McHugh added that "he only meant to scare them and I didn’t mean to kill anyone – please believe me".
Ben Williams, for the prosecution, also read out transcriptions stating that McHugh told officers he was not used to driving a car as powerful as the Volvo.
The defendant will be on the stand to give evidence from 2.30pm.
Meanwhile, Dr Charlotte Randall, a Home Office consultant pathologist, told the court that the cause of Miss Steer’s death was "traumatic chest and abdominal injuries".
She said that the victim had been left with a number of broken ribs, damaged lungs, a tear near her aortic valve and to two chambers of her heart, as well as a broken femur.
The trial continues.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article