TRACIE ANDREWS last night began a life sentence for the roadside murder of her fiancé Lee Harvey, a murder she had blamed on a “fat man with staring eyes” in a road-rage attack.
TRACIE ANDREWS last night began a life sentence for the roadside murder of her fiancé Lee Harvey, a murder she had blamed on a “fat man with staring eyes” in a road-rage attack.
Andrews, who had held a “premature celebration” party with her family on Monday, shook her head as the jury foreman read the verdict at Birmingham Crown Court. But her face remained impassive as she was led away to Risley remand centre in Cheshire.
Her solicitor, Tim Robinson, said afterwards that she was “devastated” and would appeal. But her counsel had told the court that she had “a lack of courage to confront her own wrongdoing”. Speaking in mitigation before sentencing, Ronald Thwaites, QC, said: “Had she explained what happened, the outcome might have been different, but she stands convicted of murder.”
Andrews, 28, and Mr Harvey, 25, “enjoyed and endured a love-hate relationship that culminated in tragedy”, Mr Thwaites said. “This killing was the result of a spontaneous outburst of passion mixed with other powerful feelings which she converted into deadly actions. If she could put the clock back, she would dearly love to do so.”
Mr Robinson said, however, that Andrews still insisted she was innocent. She had been convicted on largely circumstantial evidence and hoped to prove at the appeal that her road-rage story was true.
Andrews had claimed at a press conference after the killing of Mr Harvey on December 1 last year that they had been followed by a tatty Ford Sierra as they made their way home from the Marlbrook public house in Bromsgrove to Alvechurch, five miles away. Eventually both cars stopped and, after an argument between the drivers, the passenger in the Sierra the fat man with staring eyes had stabbed Mr Harvey. He suffered more than 30 wounds.
A few days later, Andrews took an overdose and spent several days in hospital, by which time the police were finding flaws in her story. They found it hard to credit that she had not sought help from a house near by she was found leaning against the car 17 minutes after the attack and she could not explain a knife-shaped bloodstain inside her leather boot. The murder weapon was never found, but police believe it was a Swiss Army-style penknife.
Two witnesses then came forward to say that they had seen Mr Harvey's car that night but it was not being followed; and a girl at the nearest house said that she heard only two voices, one a woman's.
Yesterday Mr Justice Buckley told Andrews that she had been convicted on very strong evidence. “Only you know precisely what went on that night, but we have all seen the awful consequences. It is a tragedy for all concerned and I feel deeply for the families on both sides.”
Mr Harvey's father, Raymond, later told a police press conference: “We feel that justice has been done for Lee not for us but for Lee.” He also thanked Detective Superintendent Ian Johnston, who led the investigation, saying he had been much maligned in court. “He did an absolutely wonderful job.”
Superintendent Johnston, who is on holiday, issued a statement saying that he did not believe the murder to have been premeditated. “I believe these were two people who could not live with each other, but could not live without each other.
“Having realised the full implications of what she had done, Miss Andrews made up this story about the road-rage incident. She had probably been given the idea by extensive publicity about the M25 road-rage murder. Having made up this version of events, she was obviously obliged to stick by it ... in a way I feel sorry for her.”
Andrews and her parents were said to have held a party in their garden on Monday as the jury deciding her fate spent the night in a hotel. A neighbour said she had asked what it was for: “I was told it was Tracie's Mum's birthday, but her husband said it was more of a joint celebration because they were confident Tracie would be back home for good today.”
Instead, she spent last night under suicide watch in the women's section of Risley's healthcare centre. She will be assessed for several weeks before being transferred to Durham prison or Bulwood Hall in Essex. If she goes to Durham she will be in H-wing with Myra Hindley and Rosemary West.
She will not know for some months how long she will have to serve before being considered for release on licence. The trial judge will make a recommendation on a minimum term to the Lord Chief Justice and a final decision will be made by the Home Secretary.
The Tracie Andrews Story
The Case Against Her
The Victim