Dad and son who killed boy in crash cleared of murder

A father and son have been convicted of killing a four-year-old family member in a crash between two pick-up trucks - but cleared of his murder.

Peter Maughan died when the vehicle he was in was rammed near Dartford on 1 June by a truck being driven by Owen Maughan.

Owen, 27, had previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but was on trial for murder, alongside his father, Patrick Maughan, 54, who was the front seat passenger.

A jury at Maidstone Crown Court found them both not guilty of murder on Thursday. Patrick was found guilty of manslaughter after being accused of encouraging and assisting Owen.

Peter was in the back of his vehicle with his one-year-old sister, while their mother Hayley - Owen's cousin - and her partner, Lovell Mahon, were driving on the A2 near Dartford.

Owen and his father chased their pick-up truck for several miles in a state of "fury", the court heard earlier.

Prosecutor Richard Jory KC told jurors the reason why the pair were angry was unclear, though they had been drinking during the day in Rochester.

Peter was thrown from the vehicle and died of "severe and devastating injuries" to his head, chest and abdomen, the court heard.

His mother found him lying face down in grass and screamed for help.

Mahon was seriously injured in the crash on New Barn Lane, and is unlikely to walk again.

Owen previously told jurors he "made a cowardly decision" to flee the scene after seeing his relative's car roll several times.

He and Patrick had had about 12 bottles of beer and 13 pints respectively before getting in the car, the court heard.

Prosecutor Jory called the action "a deliberate ramming at high speed" and added Owen had "used his car as a weapon".

After he and Mahon argued back and forth while driving along the road, Owen went into the wrong lane and clipped the back of their car at about 60 mph (97km/h), the court heard.

"I thought I would just put a dent on the side of his car and he would stop," the 27-year-old had told the court.

Peter's mother, Hayley, said in a police interview they were in fear of their lives during the chase.

"We begged them," she said. "We told them that the children were in the motor."

Hayley described Patrick as having a face that was "blood, blood, blood red."

"There was like froth coming out of his mouth, he was screaming," she added.

On hearing of Peter's death, Owen told jurors he knew he had to "go back and face the consequences".

He handed himself in to a police station with his mother the next morning.

Owen, of Hill Rise, Darenth, also admitted to inflicting grievous bodily harm on his cousin's partner, Mahon.

Patrick was found guilty of inflicting GBH on Mahon on Thursday.

Kent Police's senior investigating officer in the case, Det Insp Rachel Elmore, said it was a "devastating and entirely avoidable tragedy".

"An innocent young child lost his life, a father has been left unable to walk again, and a mother now faces the unimaginable task of rebuilding her family while carrying her grief," she said.

"Their lives have been irreversibly changed by the deliberate and dangerous actions of these two men.

"No sentence can ever undo the pain they have caused."

Sentencing is due to take place at a later date.

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