Pedestrian Auriol Gray has Huntingdon cyclist death conviction overturned

• By Brian Farmer & PA Media
• BBC News, at the Court of Appeal

Updated 2 minutes ago

A pedestrian who shouted and waved her arm at a cyclist riding on the pavement, causing them to fall into the path of a car, has had her manslaughter conviction overturned by appeal judges.

Auriol Grey, 50, used an expletive as she told Celia Ward, 77, to “get off the pavement” in Huntingdon in 2020.

Mrs Ward, from nearby Wyton in Cambridgeshire, died as a result.

At the Court of Appeal on Wednesday, three judges overturned her conviction.

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Yip and Mrs Justice Farbey, said: “In our judgment, the prosecution case was insufficient even to be left to the jury.”

She continued: “In all the circumstances, we have no hesitation in concluding that the appellant’s conviction for manslaughter is unsafe.”

Following the ruling, Ms Grey’s family said in a statement: “Whilst we welcome the decision of the Court of Appeal our thoughts today are also with the Ward family, and I am sure a day doesn’t go by when they don’t remember their tragic loss.

“We are very relieved that Auriol’s prison order 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.”

They said: “There has been unnecessary and prolonged suffering and vulnerable people like Auriol need better support from the justice system – we hope lessons will be learned.”

The court heard Ms Grey, who attended the hearing, was charged with unlawful act manslaughter – which requires an unlawful action to take place that caused death.

However, her lawyers told appeal judges that no such “base offense” was ever identified at the trial.

Adrian Darbishire KC, for Ms Grey, said: “The trial seems to have proceeded on the basis that some kind of unlawfulness, undefined and unspecified, was sufficient to find this offense of homicide.”

Dame Victoria and her fellow appeal judges agreed, ruling that the jury were not asked to decide “the fundamental question of whether a base offense was established”.

The senior judge continued: “The appellant’s actions that day contributed to Mrs Ward’s untimely death… had Mrs Ward not died we regard it as inconceivable that the appellant would have been charged with assault.”

Ms Grey’s actions had been described as “hostile gesticulation” towards Mrs Ward during her original trial.

However, Mr Darbishire said in the appeal: “Hostile gesticulation is not a crime, otherwise we would have 50,000 football fans each weekend being apprehended.”

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had responded to the appeal, with its barrister Simon Spence KC telling the court it was accepted that “common assault as the base offense was not identified by name”.

After the judges had given their ruling, Mr Spence asked for Ms Grey’s case to be sent back to the crown court for a retrial, which was denied.