Businessman’s death ‘not murder’ judge rules

THERE was no conspiracy to kill a wealthy Devon businessman who died in a hit-andrun in Ukraine while celebrating his first wedding anniversary, a judge has concluded.

Barry Pring, 47, suffered fatal injuries when he was hit by a car while waiting for a taxi on a carriageway outside a restaurant in Kiev on February 16, 2008.

The IT consultant had been out to dinner with his wife Ganna Ziuzina, now known as Julianna Moore, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.

After the meal, Ms Moore tried to call a taxi but was told one would not arrive for up to 40 minutes and so the couple walked to a nearby road to try to flag down a passing car, an inquest heard.

They climbed over a guard rail and onto the hard shoulder of the road before Ms Moore returned to the restaurant to collect a glove she had left under the table.

Judge Paul Matthews described how a car with false number plates “travelling at high speeds” then hit Mr Pring on the unlit hard shoulder, causing fatal injuries.

The judge, sitting as a senior coroner, reached a narrative conclusion following a five-day inquest at Bristol Civil Justice Centre.

He said: “Extensive police inquiries in Ukraine unfortunately failed to identify either the vehicle or the driver.

“No charges have ever been brought in relation to the death.

“Apart from the driver of the car, no other person was involved in the death of Barry Pring. In particular, there was no conspiracy to kill him.”

The inquest heard how Mr Pring, who was originally from Devon, met Ms Moore on an internet dating website and they married in Ukraine in January 2007.

Mr Pring’s family told the inquest how Ms Moore seemed “cold” and “not loving or caring” towards her husband.

His mother Irene and brother Shaughan began suspecting foul play following his death and later accused Ms Moore of organising for him to be murdered.

They hired a private investigator in Ukraine, who claimed the authorities had not investigated Mr Pring’s death properly.

An inquest held at Devon County Hall in January 2017 concluded that Mr Pring was unlawfully killed, but this was later quashed by the High Court, which ordered a fresh hearing to take place.

Judge Matthews, who presided over the second inquest, said: “There is not a single piece of direct evidence to show that there was any such conspiracy, or that if there was, Julianna Moore was involved.

“Instead, the Pring family put forward a number of allegations based on circumstantial evidence which they say, when taken together, collectively suggest that Julianna Moore was criminally involved in organising the death of her husband Barry Pring and was indeed guilty of his murder.”

Judge Matthews questioned the timing of Mr Pring’s death. “If this was a murder, it was a curious, risky and inept way to carry it out,” he said. “The driver could not have been sure of hitting Barry in a high speed collision, and if he hit him, that he would kill him.

“In my view, there are too many ducks to be lined up in a row in order for this to be a sensible means of carrying out a plot to murder.”