Tony Worrell guilty of murdering Katie Powles

JOHN SELKIRK/Dominion Post

TONY WORRELL: Guilty of murder.

Tony Worrell found guilty of murdering Katie Powles

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MURDER VICTIM: Katie Powles.

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A man who murdered a bride in a deliberate car crash has caused "grief beyond comprehension".

A high court jury this afternoon found Tony Worrell, 50, had killed Katie Powles, 26, on June 3 2008 when he deliberately ploughed into her Mazda on Linwood Rd, South Auckland.

Mrs Powles - who had married her long-term boyfriend just four months before the crash - never regained consciousness and died of massive internal injuries.

Worrell was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to another motorist whose car he crashed into and guilty of two counts of attempted intentional damage but not guilty of two counts of causing damage.

The nine-day trial came to a close at the High Court at Auckland yesterday morning, and the five man and seven woman jury deliberated throughout yesterday and for five hours today before announcing its verdict.

None of the verdicts were unanimous - they were all on a majority verdict of 11 to one.

Worrell stood in the dock wracked with weeping, hands clasped before him, head bowed.

Brett Robinson, who has been unable to work since he suffered horrific injuries when Worrell crashed into his car shortly before his fatal collision with Katie Powles, said Worrell had caused "grief beyond comprehension".

Speaking on behalf of both the Powles and Robinson families, he said it was an avoidable event and Worrell was guilty of senseless act of selfishness.

He said that grief and pain would be with the families for the rest of their lives. Mr Robinson doubted Worrell would ever undertand what he had done.

On the first day of the trial crown prosecutor Kirsten Gray told the jury the accused crashed into Mrs Powles car in an attempt to end his life.

Worrell was "no stranger" to suicide attempts and had tried to kill himself four times in the year before the crash, Ms Gray said.

On the day of the crash, he had returned home from hospital after an attempted overdose. He had tried to end his life on several other occasions, including once when he drank aftershave and detergent.

On the night of June 3, Worrell left his house after an argument with his wife, Lynette. He had visited a bottle shop three times that afternoon and was "swaying on his feet" before he got into the car, the court was told.

About 6pm he telephoned his wife, saying he was looking for a big truck. "It appeared the accused had wanted to end his own life that night," Ms Gray said.

Later in the evening he drove directly at four separate cars, crossing the centre line and making no attempt to swerve.

"Each of these four drivers managed to avoid being hit by the accused, but you'll hear that Brett Robinson wasn't so lucky," Ms Gray said.

Mr Robinson, 42, had been driving his two young children home from soccer practice when he saw Worrell's car "coming straight towards him".

The cars collided and Mr Robinson suffered serious injuries to his legs and pelvis. He has been unable to work since.

Worrell then smashed into Mrs Powles' car, creating "a scene of complete carnage", the court was told. Mrs Powles was behind Mr Robinson's vehicle and she too collided with Worrell.

"Mrs Powles never regained consciousness and was trapped inside her car," Ms Gray said.

Emergency service members discovered empty beer bottles in Worrell's car and a full can propped between his legs after the crash.

His lawyer, Matthew Goodwin, had said his client did not dispute that several "truly unfortunate" events had happened. However, Worrell had not intentionally set out to hit the four cars.