Father and son guilty of murder after running down man with car four times in Iceland car park

A father and son have been found guilty of murder after holding a man down and running over him four times in an Iceland car park in east London.

Gary Ternent, 59, held down businessman John Avers while his son, Bobby Ternent, 32, repeatedly drove a BMW over him at a branch of Iceland in Dagenham, on the evening of 13 September 2020.

Avers, 47, died at the scene after suffering "catastrophic" injuries, the Old Bailey heard.

A post-mortem showed he had suffered fractures to the skull, sternum, pelvis, left thigh and 22 ribs.

Distressing CCTV footage viewed in court showed Avers screaming in pain as Bobby Ternent repeatedly drove his BMW X6 at him in a disagreement over £40,000.

Avers' family wept in court as the pair were found guilty of his murder on Friday.

Previously, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones QC said the defendants had killed Avers by "deliberately driving that BMW X6 straight at him, running him over".

He said: "With Bobby Ternent at the wheel, and Gary Ternent holding John Avers down on the ground in front of the car, John Avers was run over once, then Bobby Ternent spun the car around and ran over him again.

"Gary Ternent then ran to join his son in the car before they then ran their victim over a third time – and a fourth time.

"Only then, no doubt satisfied that they had done enough damage, they drove away, leaving John Avers dying, or more likely already dead from the catastrophic injuries they caused him."

Police and medics found Avers in a large pool of blood and he was pronounced dead at 12.22am on September 14 2020.

After leaving the scene, Bobby Ternent changed his clothes at home and burnt the BMW X6, which had false plates, jurors heard.

Later, father and son were picked up on CCTV talking about what had happened, with Bobby Ternent saying "he might be crippled".

His father replied: "Right, we gone over him three times."

Following his arrest, Bobby Ternent claimed his friend Avers had asked him to look after £40,000 then accused him of handing it back "short".

The prosecutor suggested that whatever the truth, having a row over money and being threatened was not a defence to murder.

The defendants, of Movers Lane, Barking, east London, had denied murder.

Following their convictions, Judge Anne Molyneux remanded them in custody and adjourned sentencing until February 10.