The hit-and-run killer of a five-year-old boy has finally been brought to justice following an agonising 12-year wait.
Little Samuel Walker was knocked down in front of his mum, sister and cousin as he crossed the road in February 2003.
Yesterday, Nawnee Mackin, 35, was unanimously convicted of causing death by dangerous driving at Manchester Crown Court, the Manchester Evening News revealed .
Samuel,
his mother Jacqueline Tokmac, his 11-year-old sister and five-year-old
cousin were on their way to their grandmother’s house for a Sunday
afternoon picnic after going to the local Co-op shop to buy sweets when
tragedy struck.
In the aftermath of the crash the owner of the car, Mackin’s pal, Craig Chevelleau, falsely reported it stolen.
Guilty: Nawnee Mackin was convicted
Mackin, formerly of Astbury Avenue, Chorlton, wasn’t a suspect until he was named by a witness in a ‘breakthrough’ moment in May 2013 , following a tenth anniversary cold case review of the case.
Samuel’s
mother went on to identify Mackin in an identity parade, later telling
police: “It was him...it was the eyes. I saw that person run over my son
on Hardy Lane. The face was burned onto my memory.”
'No effort' to stop
On the day of the accident Mackin had been driving aggressively and erratically about the area in Chevelleau’s car.
He
headed towards the young family at speed on Hardy Lane in Chorlton,
failed to slow down and made ‘no effort’ to stop, instead trying to
swerve around them in the moments before the tragic collision.
Mackin
first went on trial for causing Samuel’s death in June, but the jury
were unable to reach a verdict, resulting in this month’s retrial, which
finally secured his conviction. He denied being the driver in both
trials.
Craig Chevelleau, 33, of Hathersage Road, Longsight, was convicted of perverting the course of justice in the first trial.
Describing
the moment of the crash during the case, prosecutor Henry Blackshaw
said the Mitsubishi Gallant which killed Samuel turned into the road ‘at
speed’ from Barlow Moor Road with a ‘screeching of tyres’.
Accomplice: Craig Chevelleau was found guilty of perverting the course of justice
Vulnerable
“By now Jacqueline and the children were
in the carriageway”, he went on. “She became aware of this car bearing
down on them. By now she had committed them to crossing the road.
"She
heard the loud revving of the engine, she was aware of the fact they
were vulnerable, and saw this car which, she went on to say, was being
driven by someone who looked like they were on drink or drugs bearing
down on them.
“She started to shout at it as it continued to
speed towards them, yelling ‘stop, stop, ****ing stop’ in panic as this
was happening. It became increasingly apparent as the car got close to
them it wasn’t stopping or slowing down, indeed it was weaving from side
to side.
“As this car got closer to them she was staring at the
driver through the windscreen - she describes him as having teeth
gritted and eyes open wide. Sam had gone further than the rest of the
group into the carriageway and had turned round to try and get back to
her - and was struck on his left side.”
In a Facebook post from
October 2012, Mackin appeared to refer to the tragedy, saying
‘accidents, mistakes am da coldest guy...don’t give a **** about the
past or anybody’.
The following year, while police were looking
for him in connection with the accident, he changed his Facebook profile
to an image of himself in front of a sign saying ‘On the Run’.
Mackin and Chevelleau are expected to be sentenced on Monday.
No comments:
Write comments