A MAN has admitted the attempted murder of four children by hitting them with a hammer before crashing a car at 90mph in a case an experienced police officer said made him ‘shudder’.
Owen Scott, 29, of Fawley, Hampshire, drove his car into the Travellers Inn on the A629 at Oxspring last August after attacking the children with a hammer leaving them with severe and life threatening injuries.
Scott admitted four counts of attempted murder and dangerous driving at Sheffield Crown Court on Monday following the crash last August.
Two girls, aged seven and eight, and two boys, aged 21 months and nine months, were seriously injured and one of the girls remains in hospital where she has been ever since.
Scott will be sentenced on February 15.
The court was told Scott had attacked the children in the car with a hammer.
He then drove a grey Dacia Logan into the wall in front of the pub. The car was thrown upwards, and skimmed the pub itself before coming to a rest further down the road.
Scott walked away from the crash almost unscathed.
Defending, Michelle Colborne QC said Scott had ‘little or no memory’ of what had happened.
She said: “There is mitigation which demonstrates that, at the time, it was likely he was suffering from a psychosis, short lived, affecting his ability to rational thought and self control, but falls short of a defence.”
Scott was remanded in custody ahead of sentencing. Judge Mrs Justice O’Farrell said further psychiatric reports were needed.
After the hearing Detective Chief Inspector Dave Stopford told the Chronicle it was one of the most harrowing cases he had ever dealt with.
“It was a very traumatic case for all involved. I’ve been a police officer for 33 years, and it made me shudder,” he said.
“Convictions of this nature can be very difficult to secure. I am glad he has pleaded guilty which is an assistance to everyone involved in the case.
“The injuries these children suffered were horrifying, extremely severe and life threatening. One remains in hospital to this day, and may well be there for some time yet. The others are at home, but still living with the consequences of their injuries.
“They were hit over the head with a hammer, suffering skull injuries that were just awful.”
He said Scott appeared to have had no connection to the Barnsley area and had seemingly been driving around the country almost randomly when his journey came to an abrupt end near Oxspring.
“He’s driven at a wall at 90mph. His intention, having hit them over the head with a hammer, is clear. It was to kill them, and perhaps himself.
“I would like to commend the medical staff, not just for the fantastic way they have looked after the children, but for the help and assistance they have given police in gathering evidence throughout this case. It really is an example of emergency services pulling together.”
