Man guilty in Matthew Weller murder trial

A man has been found guilty of murdering 44-year-old Matthew Weller after driving into him with a car.

Muhammad Haarith, 23, of Exchange Street, Accrington, was convicted of murder by a majority verdict at Preston Crown Court.

Haarith had admitted manslaughter, but prosecutors said he deliberately drove at Weller after becoming angry during an encounter in Blackburn Road on 22 April.

The court heard he fled the scene, leaving Weller severely injured, before taking "calculated" steps to cover his tracks, including destroying his phone and hiding his VW Passat.

Jurors heard Weller shouted at Haarith and his friends before pulling down his trousers, rubbing his bare buttocks on the bonnet of the defendant's car and sitting on it.

CCTV footage showed Haarith brake before driving off with Weller still on the bonnet. Weller fell to the ground and was run over by the front wheels of the car before being dragged underneath the vehicle along the road and into Birch Street, where the rear wheels ran over him, the court heard.

Lancashire Police said members of the public came to Weller's aid and he was treated by paramedics before being taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.

Weller died from his injuries shortly after 01:00 BST on 23 April, police said.

A post-mortem examination found the cause of death was multiple injuries consistent with being struck by a vehicle and dragged beneath it.

The court heard Haarith broke his iPhone and left it in a gutter before 01:00 BST on 23 April to avoid being tracked by police.

After learning of Weller's death at about midday, Haarith handed himself in at Greenbank Police Station in Blackburn at 22:30 BST.

Haarith is due to be sentenced on Monday 19 October.

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