Sheffield dad Chris Marriott dies in violent wedding row – court

A father-of-two was killed after being caught up in a wedding row between two families, a court heard.

Chris Marriott, 46, was fatally hit by a car on December 27 as he tried to help a woman who was lying motionless on the street in Burngreave, Sheffield.

Hassan Jhangur, 24, of Whiteways Road, is charged with the murder or manslaughter of Mr Marriott, while his father Mohammed Jhangur, 56, is accused of perverting the course of justice.

Both deny the allegations. The trial at Sheffield Crown Court continues.

At an earlier hearing, Hassan Jhangur also denied charges of attempted murder and wounding with intent in relation to another victim.

He admitted causing death by dangerous driving but denied charges of grievous bodily harm.

Opening the case on Tuesday, prosecutor Tom Storey KC told the jury that the wedding of Amaani Jhangur and Hasan Khan triggered the sequence of events that unfolded on December 27.

The court heard that Ms Jhangur’s family apparently disapproved of the union, prompting a violent row to break out outside the Khan family’s home in College Close later that day.

During the altercation, the court heard that Nafeesa Jhangur, Hassan Jhangur’s sister, fell to the ground where she remained motionless.

Mr Storey said that’s when Mr Marriott, who had been out for a walk with his wife and two children, came across Nafeesa Jhangur and went to help her.

She was soon joined by Alison Norris, a midwife, who had also been out for a walk with her family and spotted the woman.

As they tended to her, a Seat Ibiza driven by Hassan Jhangur came around the corner “at some speed”.

The jury heard that the vehicle first hit Hasan Khan’s father, Riasat, who was sitting nearby, then hit other passers-by, including Mr Marriott and Ms Norris.

The prosecution said Mr Marriott was “almost certainly” killed on the spot and several others, including Jhangur’s own sister and mother, suffered serious injuries.

Giving evidence on Tuesday, Ms Norris told the court how she received “a blow” and felt “flying through the air”.

She said: “Somehow – I still don’t know how – I launched myself out of the way.

“I didn’t even have time to shout a warning, I just moved somehow. I still don’t know how I did it.”

She told the jury she feared the attack was deliberate because the vehicle did not change speed and because of the position of the wheels.

Her partner John Wood said in his evidence that he remembered seeing the car swerve to avoid “a person or two” standing in the road before crashing into the group in front.

“It was a slight swerve, slightly left to the pavement without slowing down,” he told the court.

Following the collision, the prosecution said, Hassan Jhangur got out of the car, armed with a knife, and stabbed Hasan Khan several times.

Mr Storey told jurors: “Hassan Jhangur’s actions demonstrate that he intended to kill that day.

“His primary target appears to have been Hasan Khan, but he was clearly prepared to use his car as a weapon, intending to cause at least very serious harm to others.”

Hassan Jhangur’s father Mohammed arrived at the scene a short time later and the court heard how he allegedly took the knife from his son and hid it in the boot of his own car.

Mohammed Jhangur initially told police that someone had planted the knife and when he was charged with perverting the course of justice, the prosecution said, he commented that he “should have let it go”.