Powys: Rebecca Steer murder trial hears summing up

But his defence barrister, summing up his case in Stephen McHugh's trial, rejected the idea that the 28-year-old was "angry" when he collided with people in Willow Street in October last year. 

Liverpool-born McHugh has denied murdering Miss Steer and causing the grievous bodily harm of Kyle Roberts but admitted manslaughter and actual bodily harm, respectively.  

On day seven of his trial at Stafford Crown Court, both sides gave their closing arguments to the jury. 

Kevin Hegarty KC, prosecuting, told the jury that McHugh was ‘angry’ when he chose to stop, reverse and mount the kerb outside Grill Out in Willow Street on October 9, 2022. 

FOLLOW LIVE: Day Seven of the Rebecca Steer murder trial

This ‘anger’, he said, stemmed from the attack in Festival Square, shortly before the incident in Willow Street, where the defendant admitted to kicking a man in the head after he had been assaulted by McHugh’s friend Alex Coulson.  

“Have you ever seen anyone defuse a situation by kicking someone in the head?” he said.  

This, according to Mr Hegarty KC, was a sign of the aggression that the defendant carried into Willow Street where ‘he used the car like a weapon’ to deliberately hurt people, leading to the death of Miss Steer. 

Mr Hegarty also dismissed the defendant’s assertion in his evidence to the jury last week that he wanted to ‘scare’ people by mounting the kerb. 

He said: “What is scary about mounting a kerb?” 

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The defence barrister then mocked the argument with his voice, before telling the jury that the ‘angry’ exchanges in the car between his passengers Mr Coulson and Kyle Dwyer, which led to, the prosecution say, the latter hiding in fear for his safety. 

Mr Hegarty KC also pointed to McHugh’s post-incident behaviour – not calling police and asking who ‘grassed him up’ on arrest – as further signs of his ‘aggressive’ behaviour. 

However, Paul Hynes KC, defending, dismissed the prosecution’s argument by stating that his client ‘did not have the time’ to summon and release his anger.  

He highlighted his own expert witness Michael Prime’s evidence that the car used by McHugh was travelling at 10mph and was on the kerb for ‘just two seconds’. 

He also insisted to the jury that the only person who had been ‘angry’ in Festival Square had been Mr Coulson, who had admitted assaulting a man first.  

Mr Hynes KC, who started his defence by stating ‘I am no apologist for Stephen McHugh’, also queried the validity of witness testimony from those present on the night. 

The court was shown CCTV of the incident highlighting, in Mr Hynes KC’s view, that one witness – Katie Davies – was not in a position to recall the evidence she gave.  

She had last week told the court that McHugh had shouted abuse into the crowd, but Mr Hynes KC added that she did not ‘recognise his strong Merseyside accent’ and ‘could not be seen in the CCTV'. 

He added that CCTV ‘exposes the frailty of human recollection’ and added that McHugh’s actions on the night were largely down to excess alcohol and drugs and a lack of driving experience.  

Justice Andrew Baker is expected to sum up the case and send the jury out for deliberation on Tuesday afternoon.