Man CLEARED of murdering amputee with his own Mercedes - but still faces years in jail

A man has been found not guilty of murdering an amputee, after running him over with his own car when he tried to stop him from driving off with it. But, he was convicted of manslaughter and robbery.

Victim Marc Allen, 50, disturbed intruder Errol Woodger at his property in Erith, south-east London, who then snatched the keys to his and made off in the early hours of December 29 2019, the was told. When he tried to stop the theft, the car was used “as a weapon” to run him over. Neighbours found Mr Allen on the road with a severe head injury. He died a month later, having never regained consciousness. Woodger, 38, of Belvedere, south-east, was on trial at the Old Bailey accused of Mr Allen’s murder and robbing him of his car. He denied the charges against him.

Woodger clapped as he was cleared of murder by an Old Bailey jury today (tues) after seven and a half hours. But he shook his head as he was convicted of manslaughter and robbery. He tried to leave court and got into a scuffle with the dock officers before the judge ordered he was taken out of court.

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In March, jurors were told Mr Allen’s lower right leg was amputated as a result of a previous illness and he used a prosthetic limb.

His car, a grey Mercedes GLA, had been supplied by a Motability Car Scheme and was parked in the forecourt at the time it was stolen.

Prosecutor Anthony Orchard KC told jurors that Mr Allen had been in his ground floor flat when a man was caught on CCTV outside.

The man climbed over a low wall and got on to a neighbouring unoccupied flat through a window, he said.

Mr Orchard said the victim appeared to be watching television or sleeping when he became aware of someone leaving the nearby flat or in the communal hallway, and put on his prosthetic leg.

Mr Orchard said: “Within minutes Marc Allen’s Mercedes was being stolen. His car keys had been taken. You can be sure he wouldn’t have handed them over voluntarily.”

Neighbour Linda Rumsey allegedly heard shouts of “That’s my car. You aren’t taking my car”, and saw Mr Allen standing by the back of the car on the driveway.

The car engine revved several times and Mr Allen may have suffered a “glancing blow” as the vehicle reversed quickly out of the parking spot, jurors were told.

Mr Allen then stood in the middle of the road with his hands up and saying: “That’s my car,” jurors were told.

Seconds later, the car was seen to rev forward “at speed” and hit Mr Allen, who made contact with the bonnet and went over the roof, jurors heard.

Ms Rumsey recalled: “He slid down the back of the boot and his head went bang when it hit the floor, I heard his head crack, it sent a shiver through me.

“Whoever was in that car was intent on taking it, nothing was going to stop him.”

Other neighbours heard Mr Allen shout "oi" several times and the sound of a car screeching.

Emergency services were called at 2.53am and Mr Allen was taken to King’s College Hospital. He died on January 29, 2020.

Jurors were told his stolen Mercedes was found by police two days after it was taken, on a driveway on the Isle of in East London.

Woodger was arrested on May 28, 2020 and gave a statement denying involvement in Mr Allen’s death, saying: “I was nowhere near the scene of the crime at the time the victim was attacked.”

He told police that on the day of the murder, he was attacked and injured by eight males on his way to his mother’s house in Greenwich and taken to hospital, where he remained for a month.

Police confirmed he had been seriously assaulted that afternoon but that it happened 12 hours after the robbery and killing, Mr Orchard said.

He suggested the assault on the defendant was “not a random act of violence but was related” to the robbery.

After a police review of the case, further lines of inquiry were pursued last year when the defendant was allegedly forensically linked to three items from the stolen car.

Woodger was re-arrested after his fingerprints were identified on a plastic box and water bottle found under the front passenger seat and his DNA was discovered on a cigarette.

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