Dad sobs recalling how Navy son's killer's family 'pointed and laughed' at him

A grieving father sobbed as he recalled how the scooter rider who killed his compassionate and bright Navy son showed no remorse for his death. He even said the offender's family pointed and laughed at him after both families attended court where he evaded jail with a suspended sentence.

Rohan Jeremiah Hicks, 21, died instantly following a crash on the B3252 at Horningtops between Looe and Liskeard on June 29, 2022. Driving the other vehicle was Lawrence King, 31, of Liskeard, who pulled out into the wrong carriageway to overtake a car driven by his brother in front of him.

Scooter rider King collided head-on with Rohan's motorcycle, causing fatal injuries to the HMS Raleigh engineering technician. A coroner has now concluded that King was racing and was solely responsible for Rohan's death. An inquest today (July 11) heard Rohan was a loving, good and generous man who adored his family, with his parents saying things "will never, ever be the same" as they accused the justice system of failing their son.

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A criminal case was launched following Rohan's death and on May 17, 2023, King walked free with a suspended sentence having pleaded guilty to causing death by careless driving at Truro Crown Court. Today (July 11) an inquest was held at Cornwall's Coroner's Court to establish the circumstances around the death and give the family more answers.

During the inquest, held in Truro, a statement was read out explaining how an independent witness to the tragedy thought the dangerous manoeuvre was a result of Rohan's killer "showing off". He described King riding "like an idiot" while driving in a convoy with family and friends.

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Luke Barnes said he saw a motorbike overtaking and that there had been a previous overtake manoeuvre before the collision. He said he could see Rohan's motorcycle lights at least three seconds before the crash and he thought that if King had looked before pulling out, he would have seen them too. He thought at the time how stupid King's driving was, telling police this in a statement.

Rohan's parents, Emma and Jack Hicks, said they both feel utterly failed by the criminal justice system as a result of the proceedings. The couple, who have two other children, said they were disappointed with the death by careless driving charge and felt King should have been charged with the more serious offence of causing death by dangerous driving.

They explained they felt a guilty plea by King to the lesser charge hindered the ability of the Criminal Prosecution Service (CPS) to pursue the more serious charge and felt sickened by the fact that harsher sentences have been received for people leaving a restaurant without paying. They told assistant coroner Guy Davies their son "had been let down".

Through tears, Mr Hicks told the courtroom: "The justice system has failed. I think that judge has failed and I think the CPS has failed. I don't know if that's through incompetence, apathy, because of the law itself or because they are under pressure and the system is broken.

"Courts are full, prisons are full and the budgets are stretched everywhere," he added, saying he felt the criminal justice system was stripped "to the bone" to a point it didn't function anymore. "As a result, this man has got away with killing my son and he got a sentence that will never impact his life. When we were coming home from the court the family pointed at us and laughed. They've got no moral compass."

He said: "[King] has never apologised. He's never looked at us. He's just a scumbag." Mr Hicks thanked Devon and Cornwall Police for everything it had done saying the investigating officers had "been brilliant".

Mrs Hicks added: "We strongly feel that justice wasn't served and, as a family, we feel we've let Rohan down, the British justice system has let him down and the CPS has. We understand there was no punishment or sentence that this Lawrence King would have received that would compare to the daily nightmare that we experience as a family.

"But it's done a disservice to the legacy of Rohan who was a serving member of the Royal Navy. And if you can't get a custodial sentence for killing someone through your reckless, deliberate actions, what do you get a sentence for?"

"The British justice system is meant to protect us and to protect the innocent. We've lost all faith in the justice system," she continued. "He brags on social media about having a criminal record and we have had to have these people laughing at us in the street." She called the sentence "insulting, disrespectful and disgusting" saying the punishment received by her son's killer has had no impact on his life.

"Rohan got a death sentence and his family and friends got a life sentence. Our lives will never, ever be the same again. I cannot find the words to describe the impact that this has had on us, continues to have on us and will do until the day we die."

Guy Davies, concluding the inquest made it abundantly clear that there was absolutely no fault on Rohan's part for the collision nor were there any road defects. He said King gave two accounts that were "at odds with each other" and were different to the statements of independent witnesses.

The coroner called him an "unreliable witness" and concluded Rohan's death could be wholly attributed to the bad driving of King, calling his driving "reckless". "I find it is likely that King undertook the fatal overtake in a reckless manner while racing, leading to the road traffic collision that caused Rohan's death." He recorded a conclusion of death by road traffic accident.

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