Woman jailed over cyclist’s death has conviction overturned

A woman who was jailed for causing the death of a cyclist who had been riding on a pavement has had her manslaughter conviction overturned.

Auriol Grey, 50, was found guilty of manslaughter in March last year and jailed for three years after the altercation with Celia Ward, 77, on a pavement in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.

A CCTV recording of the incident in October 2020 showed Grey shouting “get off the f***ing pavement” and waving aggressively at the retired midwife, who was travelling towards her on a bicycle.

Ward, a grandmother from Wyton, Cambridgeshire, fell off the pavement and into the path of an oncoming car, which struck her. She died at the scene.

Grey, who has cerebral palsy and partial blindness, denied manslaughter but was found guilty after a retrial and was jailed. Two months ago she was released on unconditional bail after winning the right to challenge her conviction.

Her conviction was overturned at a hearing at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday. Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: “In our judgment, the prosecution case was insufficient even to be left to the jury.”

She continued: “In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in concluding that the appellant’s conviction for manslaughter is unsafe.”

The court heard Grey was charged with unlawful act manslaughter — which requires an unlawful action to take place that caused death. However, her lawyers told appeal judges that no such “base offence” was identified at the trial.

Adrian Darbishire KC, representing Grey, said: “The trial seems to have proceeded on the basis that some kind of unlawfulness, undefined and unspecified, was sufficient to found this offence of homicide.”

Sharp and her fellow appeal judges agreed, ruling that the jury was not asked to decide “the fundamental question of whether a base offence was established”.

The senior judge added: “The appellant’s actions that day contributed to Mrs Ward’s untimely death … Had Mrs Ward not died, we regard it as inconceivable that the appellant would have been charged with assault.”

Grey’s actions had been described during her original trial as “hostile gesticulation” towards Ward. However, Darbishire said in the appeal: “Hostile gesticulation is not a crime, otherwise we would have 50,000 football fans each weekend being apprehended.”

Following the ruling, Grey’s family said in a statement: “Whilst we welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal, our thoughts today are also with the Ward family and I am a sure a day doesn’t go by when they don’t remember their tragic loss.

“We are very relieved that Auriol’s prison ordeal is over and we would like to thank the staff and inmates of HMP Peterborough for the kindness and consideration they have shown over the last year.

“There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering, and vulnerable people like Auriol need better support from the justice system — we hope lessons will be learnt.

“That said, we have been heartened and gratified by the way the legal community has rallied around her and, with no thought to personal gain, worked hard to right these wrongs.

“Auriol’s challenges are not over today.

“After a tough start she has strived, over decades, to build a normal life without seeking attention, and we don’t underestimate the difficulties she will face rebuilding this.

“We would ask the people of Huntingdon and the press to please respect her privacy and give her space during this time.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) opposed the appeal. Simon Spence KC, for the CPS, said it was accepted that “common assault as the base offence was not identified by name”.

After the judges had given their ruling, Spence asked for Grey’s case to be sent back to the crown court for a retrial, which was denied.