Father 'murdered teenage daughter by driving over her body twice'

A father “totally consumed with anger” crushed his teenage daughter to death by running over her body twice with his car amid a family break-up, a court has heard.

Lauren Malt, 19, was killed by her 44-year-old father Nigel Malt outside her home in West Winch in Norfolk where she was living with her mother and younger siblings on the evening of 23 January this year, Norwich Crown Court was told.

The father was estranged from his wife and children and was living at a different address.

Andrew Jackson, prosecuting, said Malt argued with Lauren and threatened her boyfriend, Arthur Marnell, with a crowbar in Leete Way before he “reversed his car into and knocked over his daughter”.

“Having knocked her to the ground he then reversed his car over her,” the barrister said.

“He stopped, then he drove the car forward again over her body.

“These actions killed Lauren Malt, and later examination of her body revealed bruising, lacerations and crushing injuries to her head, torso, arms and legs.”

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A post-mortem examination revealed that Lauren died of significant traumatic injuries to her chest and abdomen.

“Effectively she was crushed to death,” Mr Jackson said.

Malt, of Lynn Road, King’s Lynn, denies murder.

Mr Jackson also told the court that Malt’s relationships were marred by “drinking, drug-taking, anger” and that he “failed in his bid to inflict violence” on Lauren’s boyfriend.

When Lauren told him to go home, Malt was “totally consumed with anger”, he added.

Mr Jackson said Malt’s “estrangement from his wife and family no doubt fuelled his anger”.

In April 2021, Malt’s wife Karen had reported him to the police for assaulting her, the prosecutor said.

By January this year, his wife was estranged from him and living in West Winch with their children.

Mr Jackson told the court that Malt breached his bail conditions on the night Lauren died by going to the shop where his wife worked, driving to her home and making repeated phone calls.

While at the shop where his wife was, he made 19 attempted calls to the landline of her home, where Lauren and her boyfriend were, between 6.25pm and 6.52pm.

After his calls were ignored, his anger escalated and he threatened to use a crowbar that was in his car to get into the home, Mr Jackson said.

He made three further phone calls, with Lauren eventually answering one, which lasted one minute and six seconds.

Mr Jackson said: “Something in that call caused him to leave and go back to Leete Way.”

Malt parked in the driveway before arguing with Lauren and her boyfriend, Mr Marnell, and attempting to assault him with a crowbar, Mr Jackson said.

The prosecutor said Malt then began to drive his black Mercedes saloon “at speed”.

After running over his daughter, a witness shouted: “You’ve killed her, you’ve f****** killed her.”

Allison Summers QC, defending, asked jurors to consider if Malt “actually saw his daughter at or near to the back of his car” and suggested that what happened was an accident.

She said he “had been drinking and was to a greater or lesser extent under the influence of alcohol”.

Ms Summers added that Malt was “so distracted by his own anger towards Arthur Marnell, so hellbent on having the last word against Arthur Marnell that instead of… making the proper checks to make sure no-one was behind him, he reversed at speed and in temper, not to kill or to cause his daughter serious harm”.

The trial continues.

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