Disabled pedestrian Auriol Grey has manslaughter conviction overturned

A disabled pedestrian who shouted and waved at a cyclist causing her to fall into the path of an oncoming car has had her manslaughter conviction overturned at the Court of Appeal.

Auriol Grey was seen on CCTV shouting at retired midwife Celia Ward to “get off the f---ing pavement” in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, causing her to fall into the road.

Ms Grey, who has cerebral palsy and partial blindness, denied manslaughter but was found guilty after a retrial and was jailed for three years in March 2023.

But at the end of a hearing on Wednesday, three judges at the Court of Appeal in London overturned her conviction.

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: “In our judgment...In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in concluding that the appellant’s conviction for manslaughter is unsafe.”

In a statement issued by firm Hickman and Rose after the ruling, Ms Grey’s legal team said: “Once the legal elements of the offence were properly understood, it was clear that there was no proper basis for Ms Grey to be convicted of manslaughter, or indeed any offence. As a result, her conviction was quashed.

“Ms Grey simply should never have been charged.”

‘There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering’

A spokesperson for Auriol Grey’s family said: “Whilst we welcome the decision of the court of appeal our thoughts today are also with the Ward family and I am a sure a day doesn’t go by when they don’t remember their tragic loss.

“We are very relieved that Auriol’s prison ordeal is over, and we would like to thank the staff and inmates of HMP Peterborough for the kindness and consideration they have shown over the last year.

“There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering and vulnerable people like Auriol need better support from the justice system – we hope lessons will be learnt. That said, we have been heartened and gratified by the way the legal community has rallied around her and with no thought to personal gain, worked hard to right these wrongs.

“Auriol’s challenges are not over today.  After a tough start she has strived over decades to build a normal life without seeking attention, and we don’t underestimate the difficulties she will face rebuilding this. We would ask the people of Huntingdon and the press to please respect her privacy and give her space during this time.”

A ‘fundamental and material’ legal error

Her legal team said that Ms Grey, her family, and Ms Ward’s relatives should not have been put through the “ordeal”, adding that the legal grounds on which Ms Grey’s charge was identified were not made clear.

A spokesperson said: “For reasons which remain unclear, the legal elements of unlawful act manslaughter – the offence with which Ms Grey was charged – were never properly identified, nor were they explained to the jury. As the Court of Appeal found this morning.

“This was a ‘fundamental and material’ legal error as a result of which the Court had ‘no hesitation’ in concluding that Ms Grey’s conviction was unsafe.

“As the Court found, once the legal elements of the offence were properly understood, it was clear that there was no proper basis for Ms Grey to be convicted of manslaughter, or indeed any offence. As a result, her conviction was quashed. Ms Grey simply should never have been charged.

Neither Mrs Ward’s family, nor Ms Grey and hers, should ever have been put through this ordeal. Mrs Ward should never have been faced with the choice between cycling on the pavement or cycling on a busy and dangerous ring road.

“Had a clear and well-signed cycle path been in place, safely separating vulnerable pedestrians such as Ms Grey, this accident would never have occurred.

“Equally, misconceived prosecutions and wrongful convictions such as this cause untold pain to all those affected, including the family of the deceased, as well as the person wrongly accused.”