A woman made
a desperate 999 call saying she was ‘running for her life’ moments
before she was shot dead by her mother’s ex-boyfriend, a court heard
yesterday.
Lucy
Lee, 40, told the emergency operator ‘I fear he’s going to shoot me’
after John Lowe, 82, allegedly shot her mother Christine.
Armed
police later surrounded Lowe’s farm but found the mother and daughter
both dead amid ‘a scene of carnage’, the court heard.
Killed: Lucy Lee, 40, made a desperate 999 call saying she was ‘running for her life’ moments before she was shot by
Lowe,
a dog breeder, was said to have shown no remorse for killing them.
After his arrest he is alleged to have told police: ‘I shot them both.’
He also said: ‘They’ve been giving me s*** for weeks.’
The pensioner denies two charges of murder and a third charge of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.
Guildford
Crown Court heard that he shot his 66-year-old former partner and her
daughter at close range before killing four dogs at his farm in Tilford
near Farnham, Surrey.
Prosecutor Mark Dennis QC told the jury about a ‘desperate [999] call’ made by Lucy at 9.44am on February 23 this year.
John Lowe, left denies the murder of wife Christine, pictured with step daughter Stacey Banner
Christine Lee had been living with Lowe and providing him with care and assistance after he fell on hard times
‘The
female caller was in a frightened and frantic state, saying that a man
called John Lowe had just shot her mother and that she was herself
running for her life,’ he said.
‘Moments
later, showing extraordinary courage, the caller indicated that she had
made the decision to go back to the scene of the incident, saying as
she ran, “I’m gonna go back for him but I’ll die,” followed by, “I’m
nearly outside the house and I fear he’s going to shoot me.”
‘Her
last words to the operator were, “I don’t know if I’m going to be alive
if I go back in there. He shot my mum. Bye.” Those were indeed her last
words to anyone save possibly to John Lowe, who moments later was to
kill her with two shots from a shotgun.’
The jury heard that when police arrived they found Lucy lifeless on the garden steps and Christine dead in the living room.
Lowe,
who had a valid shotgun licence at the time, had used the same weapon
to kill the pair and the four dogs. A post-mortem examination confirmed
Christine was killed by a single gunshot fired into her chest from about
1ft away. Mr Dennis said evidence suggested that he shot Christine as
she was in a ‘cowering position’ as he stood over her. Lucy was shot in
the back of her head from around 9ft away. Lowe then had to reload
before firing a second fatal shot into her chest.
‘The
defendant, in effect, ended her life in the same heartless way as he
used to dispose of the lives of the four dogs,’ he said.
John Lowe told police after his arrest that the two women had been 'giving me s*** for weeks'
Lowe, pictured arriving at court, told police the shotgun went off by accident after he argued with Mrs Lee
Armed police found Mrs Lee and her daughter dead at Lowe's farm after they surrounded the property
The court heard officers found a 'scene of carnage' at the rural site, with four dogs also shot dead
Police at the scene in February. Lowe is accused of shooting his partner and her daughter in a fit of rage
The
court heard that the former gamekeeper had a love-hate relationship
with the pair, who had been looking after him in the months before their
deaths.
Mr Dennis said that Christine had known Lowe for many years and had occasionally been in a relationship with him.
She
had moved into his house to care for him after he fell on hard times.
Lowe’s long-term partner Susanna Wilson had died in 2013 and he had lost
his licence to breed dogs at the farm.
But Mr Dennis said that the defendant had complained about the mother and daughter interfering in his affairs.
A
few weeks before the killings, Lowe told a mechanic who visited the
property to repair a vehicle: ‘Those two between them drive me *******
mad, they want to know about the ins and out of everything.’
PC
Chris Gleeson, who arrested Lowe, said: ‘He said she [Christine] was an
ex-girlfriend and added, “She’s been supposed to be looking after me
but she’s been starving me to death and she’s been keeping me short of
money. I just sold my Toyota Landcruiser for £5,500 and they’ve spent
the lot.”’
The trial continues.
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