Man arrested after 'flipping over BMW and attacking woman outside hospital'
A motorist has been arrested on suspicion of murder after allegedly flipping a BMW, then attacking a woman outside a hospital in Leicester.
The woman, in her 50s, was walking down the road just after 5.30pm on Tuesday when the crash happened near the traffic lights junction in Aylestone Road, said Leicestershire Police.
Minutes later the man driving the car, got out of the vehicle, ran down Aylestone Road, before allegedly attacking the woman on the pavement outside Leicester Royal Infirmary.
She was taken to Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham with life threatening injuries, where she sadly died yesterday afternoon.
Police said it is not believed the alleged attacker and the victim were known to each other.
A 23-year-old man, who was detained at the scene, was initially arrested on suspicion of attempted murder but has now been arrested on suspicion of murder.
He was also arrested for possession with intent to supply class B drugs, assault of an emergency worker, dangerous driving, driving while unfit through drugs and failing to provide a specimen.
Detective Inspector Emma Matts, from East Midlands Special Operations Unit Murder Investigation team said yesterday: 'This woman was sadly subjected to a serious assault and was taken to hospital with life threatening injuries. Her family and close friends have remained at her bedside and tragically she died this afternoon.
'Since the incident, a dedicated team of detectives have worked tirelessly pursuing all lines of enquiry to establish the full circumstances around what happened. Those enquiries will very much continue as we now move the incident to a murder investigation.'
She thanked members of the public who have been in touch with information, adding: 'I would also still like to appeal to anyone who saw anything connected to this incident or filmed any footage – whether that was of the vehicle being driven beforehand through the city centre, the collision itself or the assault – and hasn't spoken to officers to please get in touch.
'Again, if you were driving a vehicle which has a dash cam, please check your vehicle to see if it has captured anything of use to the investigation. More Trending
'What you know could still be a crucial piece of information so please do not hesitate to pass that on.'
Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 quoting 25*367901 or visit Report a crime | Leicestershire Police
You can also pass on information using the dedicated public portal for the incident: Public Portal
Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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Daily Mail
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'Ruthless' gang that sold assassination kits including handgun, silencer and bullets to criminal hitmen are jailed for more than 60 years
A 'ruthless' gang that made assassination kits in the garden before selling them to murderers has been jailed for more than 60 years. Gary Hardy, 62, dealt the weapon bundles which were constructed in the backyard of co-conspirator 64-year-old Robert Knowles, who acquired blank firing handguns and ammunition that he converted into viable firearms. The kits were stocked with a handgun, silencer, magazine and ammunition wrapped in a latex glove, and police said the converted firearms had been seized in eight locations across the country. At least 33 firearms were manufactured in Knowles's firearms factory, which is believed to be one of the biggest in the East Midlands. Accomplice Steven Houston, 65, supplied the weapons to criminals, including 23-year-old Jason Hill who is a drug dealer and was convicted of murder last year. 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The Independent
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The judge sentenced Hill, of Derby Road, Risley, Derbyshire, to serve four years consecutively to his life sentence for murder, and said: 'You are in a different and unique position in that you were not part of the conspiracy I deal with – you were a customer of it. 'These guns were designed to kill. There is no evidence these weapons had been discharged by you.' Hardy, Knowles and Houston were charged with conspiring to sell a firearm, conspiring to possess a firearm with intent to endanger life, and conspiring to convert a firearm. Hill was charged with possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. Knowles and Hill admitted their crimes before Houston and Hardy were found guilty at a trial. Police stopped a vehicle in Gallows Lane in Measham, Leicestershire, in August 2023 and found a white box containing four firearms with Knowles's DNA on some of them. Nottinghamshire Police said when officers arrived at his property, they found him setting fire to evidence in his garden. 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Defence barrister for Knowles, Balraj Bhatia KC, said the defendant was 'not the instigator' and is described by many as a 'caring, helpful, kind person that many in difficulties can turn to'. In a letter read out by Mr Bhatia, Knowles wrote: 'I have made my bed, now I must lie in it. I'm sorry for what I got up to. If I manage to come through my sentence, I promise you won't be hearing any more from me.' Gordon Cole KC, defending Houston, said his client has 'real, physical difficulties' and has shown a 'clear expression of remorse'. In a statement after the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Mark Adas, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: 'These are ruthless individuals that have a complete disregard for human life. 'They were creating, packaging and distributing firearms, which would have led to devastating consequences had they been used in public. 'Each handgun had been threaded to fit a silencer, which allowed the gun to be used discreetly at close quarters, meaning any potential targets would be lucky to escape with their lives. 'The rounds of ammunition were converted in such a way that upon impact they expanded causing maximum damage to any target. 'Our team of detectives have now closed arguably one of the biggest firearm factories in the East Midlands and taken a large quantity of firearms off the streets. 'The full impact of this investigation will never be seen – that's because we are unable to count the number of lives we may have saved. 'If this operation had continued undetected, the strong likelihood is these weapons would have been used and people would have been killed or seriously harmed. 'To put this into context – considering that each assassination kit included 10 rounds of converted ammunition, the seizure of more than 800 blank firing rounds and nearly 800 lead pellets indicates that the group had the potential to supply up to 80 further firearms packages. 'So far, we have identified eight locations across the country where these specific converted firearms or ammunition have been seized. 'The majority were in the West Midlands. This was therefore a well-established and far-reaching criminal enterprise. 'These criminals have shown no remorse. They provided no comment in interview and have no care whatsoever for the damage they were willing to inflict on others. 'Their motives are likely to have been financial, providing weapons to criminals who in turn were using them to protect their drug operations. 'They have now paid the full price for their actions by being handed lengthy prison sentences. 'Hardy is likely to spend the remainder of his life behind bars, which sends out a clear message to those willing to get involved in this level of criminality.'
