"He repeatedly drove and reversed over their bodies."
Guildford Crown Court heard that a man’s death had stemmed from a showdown between two love rivals in a Marks and Spencer car park.
Shaan Mir, aged 27, of Surrey, is currently on trial after he repeatedly ran over Matthew Tester, resulting in his death.
The incident happened in an M&S car park in Walton-on-Thames earlier in 2021.
Michael Ivers, prosecuting, said:
“On April 22 of this year, Mir deliberately drove into Mr Tester and Mr Waring as they were walking away from his car.
“They had their backs turned away from him.
“He repeatedly drove and reversed over their bodies. When he finally drove off, Mr Tester was dying and Mr Waring was injured.
“Mir then changed his appearance – he changed clothes, shaved his head, and he even got rid of the car. He was questioned later that day.
“The first thing he said to police was his car was stolen. He repeatedly said that. He was asked questions by police and he answered ‘no comment’.
“He later accepted he was the driver. He couldn’t do anything other than accept that when he looked at the evidence.
“He claimed he was acting in self-defence when he was driving into those two men – if you are being attacked, you can use reasonable force to defend yourself.
“To drive into two people walking away from your car was clearly not self-defence.”
Mir had been in a relationship with a woman named Ilze Schoeman. The pair later broke up.
Ms Schoeman had known Steven Butler for years and had been in a brief relationship with him prior to her and Mir’s relationship.
Shortly after the relationship ended, Mir believed Mr Butler had been responsible.
They arranged to meet so they could talk about Mir’s theory. Mr Butler brought along his friends Matthew Tester and Lee Waring in case there was trouble.
However, the meeting between the two love rivals escalated.
Mr Ivers continued: “There was an altercation between Mir and Mr Butler – Mr Butler punched the defendant.
“Mir fell to the ground and Mr Butler walked away, according to his account.
“Mr Tester and Mr Waring went to Mir and said ‘just leave him [Mr Butler] alone, it’s nothing to do with you’.
“They walked away, and that’s when he drove on.”
Mir drove into the men, hitting Mr Tester and Mr Waring.
A man working on scaffolding nearby saw both men being repeatedly run over.
Mr Butler managed to pull his two friends to safety.
Mir then yelled: “See, you’re not so f**king hard now are you.”
Mr Ivers said:
“He later sent a text message to Butler, saying ‘glad all could be dealt with in a civil manner’.”
Mr Waring was taken to hospital where he had multiple operations on his face. He also suffered a wound on his chin and another to his chest.
Mr Tester was treated at the scene but died of a head injury.
Body camera footage revealed how Mir claimed that his car was stolen, telling officers he was “baffled” by the arrest.
He said to the officers: “My car has been stolen and you’re arresting me for murder? You lot are off your heads.”
Once taken in to be interviewed by officers, he declined to comment on any of the questions.
Prior to the confrontation, Mir messaged his love rival on Instagram, saying:
“Hello, I just wanted to ask you why you think it was okay to talk to my bird and tell her she broke your heart.
“Something that’s been bothering me for a while. It’s just a disrespect. Think I will tell your girl tbh.”
Mir then sent a screenshot of conversations between himself and Ms Schoeman, which he interpreted as cheating, to Georgina Bert, Mr Butler’s partner at the time.
Following this, Mr Butler said:
“Did you want to talk to me about this in person? You’ve just ruined my life.”
Mr Butler told the court: “Some things on messages can come across differently and I wanted to talk to him to talk this through.
“I deleted the message the evening it (the attack) happened because I was confused and scared and I thought I was going to get in trouble for punching him.
“Them two were like father figures to me. They loved me like a son.
“They came with me to watch my back, just in case Mir turned up with a van full of blokes. I didn’t know what I was walking into.”
Mir denies murder and attempted murder. The trial continues.
Loading ...