by Tony Gardner
THE taxi driver who killed Stephanie Hammill drove directly over her body despite his claims that he thought a bag of rubbish had been thrown against the side of his car, a forensic expert said today.
Gemma Escot, an expert in DNA and blood sampling also said it was likely that the bumper of Mohammed Ashiq's Toyota Carina had been deliberately wiped clean after the travel agent's death.
Ms Escot, based at the forensic science lab in Wetherby, said the chance of DNA found on Ashiq's cab matching anyone else other than Stephanie was one in a million. She told Dewsbury Magistrates Court today that material from the scene "supports the view that this vehicle was driven directly over her as she was lying in the road."
A statement from pathologist Helen Whitwell said Stephanie had died from "extremely severe" multiple injuries.
Ashiq, 53, cleaned the bumper, had repairs carried out and changed all four of tyres of his hackney cab after the accident, it was alleged.
The final moments of Stephanie's life were heard for the first time yesterday as it was revealed the 20-year-old had been dragged 25 yards under Ashiq's car after fleeing an abductor's car.
Ashiq, 53, appeared before Dewsbury magistrates charged with failing to stop after an accident and failing to report an accident. He admitted having two defective rear tyres on his Toyota Carina on November 29, 2003.
Stephanie, 20, of Lincoln Street, Wakefield, flagged down a car in Balne Lane in the early hours of Saturday morning after a night in Wakefield city centre with boyfriend James Garland.
A statement from James said Stephanie got into the back seat of the car and left the door open for him.
But it sped off before he could do so. James, 22, stopped a passing police patrol car and they set off in the direction of the couple's home.
On the way they came across Stephanie's body in Batley Road, near the junction with Wrenthorpe Lane.
She had been struck by another vehicle as she desperately fled her kidnapper.
Stephanie's relatives were at the hearing yesterday as the grim details of the accident were told to the court.
Police accident investigator John Green said an examination of the cab showed evidence of human contact with the under-side of the car.
Mr Green said: "The driver should have been aware the he had run over something. But I consider it a possibility he may have been unaware that it was a person."
Marks at the scene showed Stephanie's body had been dragged for 25 yards. Her handbag and a burger she had bought in the city centre were found at the roadside.
Mr Green said the near-side bumper had been cleaned but the rest of the vehicle was unwashed.
Four new tyres and a new steering rack had recently been fitted. The old steering rack was later recovered from Mr Ashiq's home on Conway Road, half a mile from the accident scene, and was damaged. There was also damage to the oil sump and cracks to the bumper and number plate.
Adrian Knox, prosecuting, said Ashiq stopped PC Darren Dixon on the night of the incident and said someone had thrown something at his car but claims he was told to carry on working as normal.
Advice
Giving evidence, PC Dixon said he had been approached by Ashiq in Wakefield shortly after the accident but he had mentioned a different incident.
Mr Knox said Ashiq made inquiries with a friend South Yorkshire police, Zafir Iqbal, about the incident and approached two other friends for advice.
Ashiq eventually went to the police on the advice of his friend, Wakefield-based magistrate Abdul Aziz. He told police he thought a bag had been thrown from a car as it passed his taxi – as he was carrying a customer – with the lights on full beam.
He said he felt something strike the front near side of the vehicle but when he looked in his rear view mirror could not see anything.
It was only when he read press reports of the incident that he realised he may have hit Stephanie.
Ashiq, assisted in court by a Punjabi interpreter, is not under suspicion over Stephanie's abduction.
The hunt for Stephanie's kidnapper is still ongoing.
Just over a month ago detectives and forensic experts from West Yorkshire travelled to Greece after authorities there impounded a black Mercedes, believed to be the car in which Stephanie was kidnapped.
The Mercedes has now been brought to West Yorkshire and is being examined at Wetherby forensic science laboratory.
Proceeding
tony.gardner@ypn.co.uk