A jealous husband who ran over and killed his wife’s friend because he suspected they were having an affair has been jailed for nine years.
Malcolm Parkes, 51, followed David Powell, 58, and his partner after he overheard them agreeing to meet at a park in September, last year.
A court heard Parkes had planned to confront them about the affair but ‘lost it’ when he saw his wife walking through Jubilee Park, in Tipton, West Mids., with his suspected love rival.
Parkes then drove his Vauxhall Astra onto grassland inside the park and deliberately mowed down the widowed dad-of-two.
He suffered horrific head, neck and chest injuries and died at the scene.
Parkes was arrested at his home in Tipton shortly after the collision where he admitted to officers he was the driver.
He was jailed for nine years at Warwick Crown Court after he admitted manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Detective Sergeant Rob Bastin, from West Midlands Police, said: “We accept today’s decision and hope that this will bring some comfort to a family that has had to deal with losing their loved one.
“The collision that claimed the life of David was a deliberate act and our thoughts are with David’s family.”
David Powell had been in a brief relationship with Parkes’ wife Jane in 2007 and began to see her again “as a friend”.
Warwick Crown Court heard Parkes was angry about the relationship and had sent his wife text messages demanding she stopped seeing Powell.
On occasions he went out with his teenage son to check whether his wife was where she said she would be – and chillingly warned: “If I ever catch her cheating on me I’ll kill him.”
Prosecutor Hugh O’Brien-Quinn said when Parkes saw Mr Powell walking arm-in-arm with his wife and their family dog in the park, he deliberately drove straight at him.
He told the court Parkes ploughed into him with such force that he was thrown into the air by the impact and died almost immediately from his injuries.
Mr O’Brien-Quinn said: “He accelerated towards them. Jane Parkes heard the car and turned and saw it coming at them at speed, and she ran from the path to her left.
“Mr Powell also moved off the path, going to the right, but the defendant followed him and drove straight into him. It threw Mr Powell into the air.”
As a result of the impact Mr Powell’s skull was fractured in three places, his spine was fractured, and he had 17 broken ribs.
Without stopping, Parkes drove back onto the path and onto the grass on the other side as he turned, stopping to shout to his wife, who had hidden in bushes with the dog: “I hope you’re f***ing happy about it now. You f***ing deserve this.”
As he drove home, he phoned his younger son and told him to tell his brother to collect the dog, adding: “I’ve just killed Dave.”
Jailing Parkes, Judge John Wait told him: “You got into your car and followed your wife and David Powell to the park and as he was walking with your wife and dog, you killed him by driving your car at him at speed, not braking at all and causing terrible injuries from which he died almost immediately.
“When you took David Powell’s life, you took a father from his son and daughter.
“But for the abnormality of mental functioning identified by the doctors, this would have been a clear case of murder.
“Had this been a case of murder committed by an able-bodied man, the only sentence would have been one of life imprisonment and, having regard to the element of premeditation, I would have taken the view that the minimum term to be served was in the region of 17 years.
“Plain it was that you knew what you were doing at the time, and plain it was that you knew what you had done and were not at all remorseful.
“Had you been convicted after a trial, the sentence would have been one of 15 years, but I have to give you credit for your plea and I have to go on to consider whether to give you a further discount because of the debilitating disease from which you suffer.”
Rachel Brand, defending Parkes, said: “He will never recover from the sense of guilt he feels at having killed a good man.”
