'Smiling killers left BBC woman dying'

Two thieves who knocked down and killed a BBC costume designer they had robbed drove away smiling as she lay dying on the ground, a court was told today.

Mark Woolley, 36 and Jackie Moorehouse, 24, drove their car over Elizabeth Sherlock outside Euston Station on Easter Monday, 16 April 2001 after she chased them to retrieve her handbag.

They thwarted her first attempt to stop them by throwing her from the bonnet of their Ford Fiesta, but finding their escape path blocked, the pair ran the car over her body, it was alleged. When they abandoned the car close by, witnesses claimed they saw them stroll away as if nothing had happened.

Following the tragedy, 42-year-old Mrs Sherlock was airlifted to The London Hospital, Whitechapel, but died from massive internal injuries.

Both Woolley and Moorehouse deny murder.

Opening the prosecution case at the Old Bailey, Richard Horwell hailed Mrs Sherlock as a woman of "courage and determination" who used all her strength to try and save herself but was knocked about like a "rag doll".

He said of Woolley and Moorehouse: "Their determination to escape and keep Mrs Sherlock's property was such that Woolley drove the car over Mrs Sherlock. Her body was dragged underneath for short distance. As they drove away now free from capture, witnesses saw both of them smile."

Mrs Sherlock had been waiting at a station cafe with her husband Peter, 48, to catch a train to Bolton for her father's birthday celebrations in Lancashire.

He said Woolley and Moorehouse, who lived together in North London, went specifically to Euston to steal. Mr Horwell said the tragedy unfolded quickly: "Within minutes Mrs Sherlock was lying on the road outside dying from injuries which the two defendants had caused. Within hours she was dead."

He said parts of the incident were captured on CCTV cameras inside and outside the station, all of which will be shown to the jury.

Mr Sherlock did not know what happened: "He was unaware that his wife had gone to give chase and so he remained at their table looking after their luggage.

"Jackie Moorhouse went straight to the car which had been deliberately parked outside the main exit and in which Mr. Woolley had sat throughout."

He said Mrs Sherlock approached the car from the passenger side and would have been fully visible to both occupants. "She didn't give up, she was determined to retrieve her bag and her property in it."

The vehicle lurched forward and then was put into reverse. It then drove forward again for a distance of about 100 metres "with Mrs Sherlock hanging on for her life".

Mr Horwell said some witnesses said one set of wheels passed over the victim while others said both sets were involved. He said: "They evaded one last attempt to stop them. A firefighter, who witnessed the incident, threw his helmet at the car, striking the windscreen."

Mr Hallwell said the pair were arrested three days later.

Officers found Mrs Sherlock's mobile phone in a black jacket. They also found a note which said: "Dear Lord, I have sinned. Forgive me for a terrible sin. God rest the poor woman's soul."

Prosecuting counsel told the jury at a previous hearing Moorhouse admitted theft while Woolley admitted manslaughter.

The trial continues.