Megan Bannister
Two cleared of her manslaughter but jailed for drugs offences
TWO men accused of leaving a schoolgirl to die after supplying her with MDMA have been cleared of manslaughter.
Jason Burder, 29, and 28-yearold Adam King both changed their pleas to admit drugs charges after being formally cleared of the gross negligence manslaughter of Megan Bannister in the third week of a trial at Birmingham Crown Court.
The defendants were alleged to have driven around in a car and failed to summon medical help as 16-year-old Megan became lifeless before a crash near Enderby, Leicestershire, on May 14.
Explaining her reasons for instructing jurors to acquit both defendants of manslaughter, Mrs Justice Jefford said: “Over the past few days, in your absence, I have heard legal argument in relation to the manslaughter charge.
“It is open to the defendants to submit at the close of the prosecution case, that if you take the prosecution’s case at its highest you could not prop- erly be sure of the defendant’s guilt.
“I have concluded that as a matter of law there is no case to answer on the manslaughter charge and it is therefore my duty to instruct you to enter a not guilty verdict against both defendants.”
In a written ruling explaining her decision, the judge said there was no evidence on which a jury could be sure that failing to seek assistance for Megan - however “morally repugnant” it might be - had caused her death.
Following his acquittal on the manslaughter charge, Burder pleaded guilty to supplying Megan with MDMA on May 14, possessing MDMA on the same date, careless driving, and two other drugs charges relating to MDMA and cocaine.
King admitted being concerned in the supply of MDMA to Megan on the same date.
The trial heard that Megan was found half-covered by a coat, lying in the back of the Vauxhall Astra after the vehicle was involved in a crash.
The Crown claimed a Snapchat video, possibly shot in Burder’s bedroom earlier that day and sent to others on social media, showed Megan “out of it” and apparently “fitting”, according to those who watched it.
Jurors were told how phone analysis, ANPR roadside cameras, and shop receipts would show how instead of driving Megan to seek help, the men spent hours driving around before the crash.