Man jailed for trying to murder woman and children in car

A man has been jailed for seven years for attempting to murder three people by grabbing the steering wheel and pulling the handbrake of a moving car.

Steven Phillipson, 34, was a passenger in the car when he caused it to veer off the A941 in Moray in 2023.

A female driver and two young children were in the car when it rolled over, close to the village of Fogwatt, near Elgin.

Judge Olga Pasportnikov described Phillipson's offences as "despicable" and said it must have been a terrible experience for the victims.

Phillipson was found guilty by a jury at an earlier trial.

Appearing on Wednesday at the High Court in Inverness, he was given an extended sentence of nine years and one month, of which he will spend seven years and one month in jail.

The remainder of the sentence will be under supervised release.

Phillipson had denied a series of charges.

During his evidence at the High Court in Edinburgh, he said: "I never pulled the handbrake."

He claimed it would have been the female driver who did it.

But a witness at the crash scene said Phillipson appeared unsteady on his feet and heard the driver shout that he had pulled the handbrake and steering wheel.

The court was told that he had "gambled with the lives" of the occupants.

Advocate depute Martin Crawford, prosecuting for the Crown, told the jury that he was inviting them to find that the accused was trying to cause the crash and that it posed "obvious danger".

He said a picture had emerged in evidence of Phillipson being intoxicated, irrational and violent, and said that he was acting with "wicked recklessness" as to the fate of those in the car.

Phillipson was found guilty of assaulting and attempting to murder the woman and the children aged under 10 by grabbing and pulling the steering wheel and applying the handbrake, causing the vehicle to veer off the road and roll over, to their injury and to the danger of their lives on 11 June 2023.

He was also convicted of attacking the woman at a flat in Rothes, Moray, on the same date, when he punched her and stamped on her wrist, and assaulting a child who was pushed.

Judge Pasportnikov said he could have killed everyone involved, including himself, and the impact of what he had done must have been significant on those involved.

Police Scotland said Phillipson's dangerous actions had "risked the lives of three people".

Det Con Lynne Cowie said: "Endangering the lives of others will not be tolerated and we will rigorously pursue those responsible for such crimes and ensure they are brought to justice."