A father feared his daughter was killed in a murder-suicide crash after her partner allegedly said "if I can't have her, nobody else can". Lydia Marsh, 25, died when a green Mazda MX-5 driven by her partner crashed head-on with an HGV on the A59 near Gisburn, Lancashire. Miss Marsh suffered multiple traumatic injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Stephen Rhodes, 49, was killed instantly in the crash. During a police investigation, Miss Marsh's family expressed concern about the couple's relationship, claiming Mr Rhodes had been "manipulative and controlling". Her father, Marcus, believed Mr Rhodes had installed a tracking app on her phone to monitor her location.
Inquest findings on the crash
At an inquest on Wednesday at Preston Coroner's Court, Sergeant Daniel Gunn said both Miss Marsh and Mr Rhodes had an app on their phones where they had access to each other's location. The family's concerns included a comment Miss Marsh made, saying Mr Rhodes had said "if I can't have her, nobody else can", which led them to wonder if the crash was part of a murder-suicide plot.
Coroner Richard Taylor said "it's a very significant leap to say he has killed her". He said: "I know from what I have read that Miss Marsh's family believe that this was a deliberate act by Mr Rhodes. The police have found no evidence of any concerning behaviour on that day. Their phones have been examined and there is nothing to suggest any problems."
Cardiac event likely caused the crash
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Rhodes, who had two sons, likely suffered an "acute cardiac event" right before the crash, with his blood supply to the heart severely compromised. The coroner said: "It would seem likely, on the balance of probabilities, that the crash was caused by Mr Rhodes suffering an acute cardiac event."
A collision investigator stated that the Mazda was travelling within the speed limit and "gradually" drifted into the path of an oncoming milk wagon only 1.5 seconds before the crash. The HGV was travelling at 56mph in a 50mph zone. Both passengers, who lived together in Walton-le-Dale, were wearing their seatbelts and the airbags had deployed.
Witness accounts and workplace checks
Sgt Moore told the inquest: "CCTV [from an abattoir nearby] shows the Mazda moving into the other lane in a gradual drift. There is no sudden turn and there is no evidence the vehicle was out of control. The HGV driver moved over as far as he could but the Mazda continued crossing towards him. He has reacted within a normal response time. He's tried to get as far over as he can but there was nothing else he could do to avoid the collision."
Passer-by Hannah Hutchinson later told police that the HGV driver, Greg Kelly, had said to her that the Mazda driver "appeared to have passed out or fainted just before the vehicles collided". However, Mr Kelly did not mention this in his formal statement. Mr Taylor said: "There is an indication that that was what was said at the time when he was spoken to at the scene but it's not something that he put in his statement."
Officers also spoke to employees at BAE Systems in Samlesbury, where both worked. Sgt Gunn told the inquest: "We are aware that concerns were raised by Miss Marsh's family as to the state of the relationship between her and Mr Rhodes. We approached BAE and we spoke to a member of the personnel team and a HR manager. We examined the methods of reporting any issues. From BAE's point of view nothing has been raised or mentioned. They had nothing on record."
One colleague told the inquest the couple had split up "for good" just two weeks before the collision. Sgt Gunn responded: "There were messages where they have fallen out and had a short time apart. There are then messages from both saying they love each other and are giving it another go. There was nothing that raised concerns that there was anything criminal in the relationship or that one party was controlling or coercing the other."
Coroner Taylor passed on his condolences to both families and returned a conclusion of road traffic collision for both deaths.
