A woman who deliberately used her Range Rover as a weapon to hunt down and kill an e-bike rider during a violent feud has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 35 years.
A deliberate and deadly pursuit
Zoe Treadwell, 36, was convicted of the murder of 28-year-old Joey Johnstone on April 9 last year in Bournemouth, Dorset. The court heard she reached ‘ridiculous’ speeds of up to 75mph on residential streets as she pursued Mr Johnstone and another rider, Danny Singleton, in her vehicle.
Mr Johnstone suffered catastrophic head injuries and multiple skull fractures in the collision and died at the scene. Mr Singleton escaped without serious injury. The attack stemmed from an ongoing feud, but Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins revealed Treadwell had tragically targeted the wrong person, mistaking Mr Johnstone for her former partner, Joshua Lovell.
A second attempt and further violence
When Treadwell realised her mistake, she recruited co-defendant Jonjay Harrison, 25, to make a second attempt on Mr Lovell’s life. This occurred on May 1, where Harrison, driving a Mercedes C180, pursued Mr Lovell and his pillion passenger, Free Jenkins, on an electric motorcycle before deliberately colliding with them.
Mr Lovell suffered multiple rib fractures, a spinal fracture, and a thigh wound. Mr Jenkins’ injuries were so severe he required the amputation of his left leg above the knee. Treadwell was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Lovell and causing grievous bodily harm with intent against Mr Jenkins.
Harrison was convicted of the same charges relating to the May 1 incident and also pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place. He was jailed for 32 years.
Devastation for a family and a chilling indifference
Sentencing at Winchester Crown Court, Mr Justice Linden said Treadwell had used her car as a ‘weapon’ and shown total indifference to whether Joey Johnstone lived or died. ‘He was much-loved by his family, his death has had a devastating effect on them and the three children who have been left fatherless,’ the judge stated.
In a victim impact statement, Mr Johnstone’s partner, Sophie Quinn, said she was ‘heartbroken’ and described him as her ‘soulmate taken away from me forever’. His mother, Michelle Rush, said she ‘never knew what true love was until I gave birth to my perfect son’.
The sentences were met with cheers from the public gallery, where one woman shouted: ‘May you rot in hell Zoe, you skank.’
Prosecutor Sarah Jones KC told the trial both collisions were ‘engineered as a consequence of a long-running grudge or feud’ and that the defendants had sought to ‘obliterate their enemies’ using their cars as weapons. The court heard Harrison had been paid £1,000 for his involvement and was described as ‘smiling and smiling’ during the pursuit.
In mitigation, Treadwell’s defence counsel said the incidents resulted from an ‘ongoing feud between two criminal gangs’ and that she had PTSD, depression, anxiety, and ADHD. Harrison’s barrister said his client had made a ‘last-minute’ decision to collide with the bike and felt ‘genuine remorse’.
