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A man who ran over and killed his girlfriend’s brother on the night they first met has been found guilty of murder. Martin O'Donovan died aged 47 after being hit by Stephen Bates' Ford Fiesta outside his sister's home in Liverpool. His mum's 70th birthday party was taking place at the time. The pair were said to have "hit it off straight away," but later fell into a drunken brawl when the 42-year-old defendant apparently insisted on driving home. This is despite him having drank a cocktail of Jagerbombs, Stella Artois, Red Bull and vodka throughout the night. He then allegedly threatened that he would "pay someone to come and get" the other man before returning to the scene in his car and "deliberately driving straight at him". Mr O'Donovan was left trapped beneath the chassis as a result, with his uncles and cousins making a desperate attempt to live the vehicle up and free him. However, he later died in hospital after sustaining serious head injuries during the incident , reports Liverpool Echo . Officers arrested Bates who told them "I know what I've done, I've f***ed up". He has been on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of murder and was found guilty this afternoon, Monday November 3. The verdict was returned by a majority of 10 to two after 13 hours and 17 minutes of deliberations by a jury of three men and nine women. Cries of "yes" were heard in the public gallery, while the defendant , wearing a white long sleeved shirt and navy blue tie, stood with his head bowed in the dock, with some of his loves ones seen in tears. Bates will now be sentenced on November 28, and was further remanded into custody until this date. Judge Neil Flewitt KC, who presided over the trial, told him: "As I am sure that you appreciate, the only sentence I can, by law, pass upon you is a sentence of imprisonment for life. "I have to determine the minimum term you will have to serve before you can be considered for release on parole. I am grateful to the families on both sides for the dignity with which they have behaved this afternoon." John Benson KC previously told the jury during the prosecution's opening that the party at the home of Mr O’Donovan’s sister Susanne Lewzey on the evening of April 18, 2025 had "started off as a happy family occasion". A "jolly atmosphere" was the phrase used to describe the event which saw people gather to celebrate their mum's 70th birthday. However, Bates was said to have become "progressively more inebriated" over the evening. This led to a bust up between him and Ms Lewzey, his girlfriend of 19 months, during which he refused to take a taxi home and instead insisted on driving. Mr O'Donovan, who had only met his sister's partner for the first time that evening but had "got on well" with him, was called upon to have a word with him as a result. Instead of coming to a solution, the two men ended up exchanging punches in the front garden, with Bates shouting after the fighting had been broken up: "Look at you. You're a f***ing p***y. You're a c***. You're all c***s." Bates eventually agreed to another sister, Natalie O'Donovan, driving him home in his car , but was described as being "seething" during this 12-minute journey and "furious with Martin O'Donovan for what had happened earlier". He was also said to have "said he'd kill him" and would "get someone to kill him", adding that he "wasn't going to get away with having punched him". Having asked Ms O'Donovan to drive to the street next to where he lived, Bates then took hold of the car keys and "sped off" without her. With the return journey having taken him only five minutes to complete, he reportedly "suddenly turned and drove straight at Martin O'Donovan", who had been sitting on a wall outside the address. Bates then apparently continued revving the engine as he seemingly attempted to continue driving, being labelled "completely unmoved" following the collision. Ms Lewzey, who had witnessed the crash, meanwhile banged on his window in a "hysterical" state while "screaming for him to stop". Mr Benson said of Mr O'Donovan's injuries: "It was clear to medics that he was critically injured. He suffered two cardiac arrests before he was taken to hospital. Lifesaving procedures were undertaken. These were futile. He was pronounced life extinct at 4.32am on the 19th of April at 47 years of age. "The injuries supported a conclusion that Martin O'Donovan had been run over at least once. The injuries to his skull were extensive. He also suffered extensive chest and abdominal injuries." Following the incident, Bates was said to have got out of his car and remarked "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, what have I done?". Shortly after 11.45pm, he went on to make a 999 call in which he said: "I've just run someone over on Stonyhurst Road. I think they're dead. "They're not moving. They're not breathing. We had an argument, and I've run him over. You need to send someone quick. I've done the crime. I don't know what we were arguing over, but it's my girlfriend's brother." Police who attended the scene noted that Bates was "extremely intoxicated", while he told officers "I know mate, I'm not going anywhere" as he was handcuffed. Having then been told he would be required to undergo a breathalyser test, he added: "I know what I've done. I know what I've done is wrong. I've f***ed up." Bates gave evidence to the jury last week, with his counsel Andrew Haslam KC putting to him: "The prosecution say that you were out for revenge, because Martin O'Donovan punched you and made you look stupid. What say you?" But Bates replied "that's not the case, no" and said that the purpose of his journey was to "try to sort our relationship out". He added that he was intending to "park up outside, where I always park it", in the location where he had left his vehicle prior to the party. Bates went on to recall: "I've come in and I've hit something, which was the wall. Then, I've tried to correct the steering and turned in the opposite direction." Asked whether he had seen Mr O'Donovan before he then struck him with his car, he replied "no". He similarly denied having intended to hit the deceased with his vehicle, saying: "I was coming in to park. I tried to correct the car. It's just a natural reaction. It come to a stop, the car. I tried to move it, and the car was just revving. "I didn't know what was going on. I think [Ms Lewzey] was saying, 'you ran him over'. I can't really remember. She was screaming and banging on the window, then she opened the door. I didn't know what I did really." Asked when he first realised he had struck Mr O'Donovan, Bates appeared to become emotional as he responded: "When I got out the car and I saw his legs under the car. Just total shock." Bates said he had then called 999 "to get help for Martin", adding: "I didn't know what I'd done. I couldn't believe it." Mr Haslam then asked "who do you say is responsible for Martin O'Donovan's death", to which Bates replied: "Me. 'Cos I shouldn't have been driving." In cross-examination, Mr Benson put to him that he had seen the other man and deliberately driven his car at him, but Bates replied: "No, I didn't. I didn't. That's alls I can say, that I didn't see him." However, Mr Benson continued: "I am going to say that you did see him and deliberatively drove your car at him. He jumped off the wall to avoid being struck by your car. Your car collided with the wall at the place that he had been sitting. He went under your car, and you saw that. Then, you attempted to drive forwards, and you did drive forwards, at an angle." But Bates maintained "I didn't see him" and said that he had "corrected the car after he had hit the wall". He also denied having attempted to leave the scene in his vehicle before Mr Benson said: "You revved the car, but the car wasn't moving because Mr O'Donovan was underneath it." Bates replied: "He was under the car yeah, but I didn't try and drive away. I tried to move the car, but I didn't know Martin was under the car. I just would have moved the car to a place to park. I hit the wall and tried to correct my steering." Asked whether the "red mist had descended on him", Bates said "there was no red mist to descend". When Mr Benson put to him that he "had a fit of extreme anger that temporarily clouded his judgement", he added: "No, I didn't." The prosecution silk went on to say: "During the party, you and Martin had been getting on famously, hadn't you? And you said to the jury yesterday that you liked him. What did you like about Martin O'Donovan?" Bates responded "he was just a good lad" before agreeing with Mr Benson's suggestion that Mr O'Donovan was "pleasant, fun and nice”. When asked "you didn't see a bad bone in his body, did you?" he said: "No." Having been asked whether the subsequent "punch up" had started because he had "said something offensive to Susanne", he replied: "No, I don't know how the fight started. I don't recall being offensive to her." But Mr Benson continued: "Is that a truthful answer? Someone you had been having a perfectly civil, pleasant, happy time with, a bromance, as it was called. You have no idea why it became a punch up?" Bates said in response: "It was a drunken brawl. I don't know what the reason was, why we started fighting. I think he hit me first outside, from the camera footage." Mr Benson then referred to Bates calling Mr O'Donovan a "f***ing p***y" and telling Mr Lewzey that "she was a c*** and all of her family were c***s", adding: "Do you think for one moment, after that, that Susanne Lewzey was going to welcome you back into her arms and into her house? You would be deluded if you thought that, knowing Susanne as you did. "You weren't going back to patch it up with Susanne Lewzey, because you knew that it was over, didn't you? You went back for the unfinished business." But Bates denied that this was the case and said "there was no unfinished business". Referencing threats which he was then said to have made towards Mr O'Donovan as he was being driven home, Mr Benson continued: "You were obsessed, seething about what Martin O'Donovan had done to you, weren't you? He punched you in front of his family and all of the other guests. And you were going to have none of that, were you?" Bates replied "it was just a fight, it was just a fight". He went on to deny "feeling belittled" following the altercation before Mr Benson said: "You were in a state of heightened anger and excitement about what had happened, and you didn't let it lie. As soon as you managed to get the car keys, you got into the driver's seat and you sped off. "What's more, you continued at a fast pace to get to Stonyhurst Road, such that Susanne Lewzey couldn't believe the time it had taken you to come back to her home. Why were you going so quickly? What did you think you were going to be gaining? Susanne Lewzey wasn't going leave the house. What was the huge urgency?" Bates responded: "I just wanted to sort things out between me and Susanne. I wanted to sort things out with my girlfriend ."
