Jailed Doncaster drink-drug driver who killed partner in 90mph smash has sentence increased

Connor Malpass, 25, of Rectory Gardens, Doncaster, was jailed in August for 10 years and six months after admitting causing the death of Natasha Woroch and seriously injuring two other passengers in the crash on the A161 in Belton in July 2023.

After a referral by the solicitor general, who argued the sentence was "unduly lenient", three judges on Wednesday increased his sentence to 13 years and six months.

The Court of Appeal in London heard that before the crash, in which passenger Thomas Colcombe and his partner Imogen Rowlands were also seriously injured, Malpass had deactivated a car safety feature which, if a wheel slip was detected, automatically applied the brakes.

Peter Ratliff, for the solicitor general, said in written submissions that Malpass drove at "grossly excessive speeds and in an erratic manner".

Mr Ratliff wrote that after the crash, Malpass had been seen "spending the remaining time before police arrived searching Natasha Woroch and the immediate scene".

He added: "As he was to tell the police later, he was looking for a watch that he had purchased for her.

"The watch, a rose-gold-coloured Rolex, was later found on grass near the scene of the collision."

Lord Justice William Davis, sitting in the Court of Appeal with Mr Justice Murray and Judge Shaun Smith KC, said after the crash, Malpass had "acted in a heartless and callous manner - apparently more interested in recovering a valuable watch" rather than the welfare of his partner.

Lewis Power KC, representing Malpass, said he accepted the case was "most dreadful and distressing", but the sentence was "not unduly lenient".

In increasing Malpass's sentence, Lord Justice Davis described the "harrowing effect" of the fatal crash on Ms Woroch's mother.

He said she had "daily reminders of how her daughter died because, given where she lives, she has to drive past the scene of the collision on a regular basis".

Meanwhile, Ms Rowlands says she has been dealt a 'life sentence' after being seriously injured the crash crash which killed her best friend.

She suffered spinal, foot, elbow, pelvis and rib fractures when the VW Golf car she was a passenger in smashed into a wall and hit a lamppost.

She later learned how Malpass made 'no attempt' to help Natasha after the crash and instead used his phone torch to search her body for the watch.

Speaking earlier this year for the first time, Imogen, from Epworth in North Lincolnshire, said no jail term would ever account for the pain and suffering he had inflicted upon her.

She said: "No sentence will ever compare to the life sentence we've received. What happened that night wasn't an accident. It was the driver's choice to drive so dangerously. When he started driving erratically, we were frightened.

"We asked him to slow down but he ignored us. I don't remember the impact of the collision or afterwards due to being unconscious, but it was horrifying to hear in court the details of how the driver behaved after killing my best friend.

"He decided to search Tash's body for a watch he'd given her as a present, even going as far as shining his phone torch on her. He made zero attempts to help her."

Imogen paid an emotional tribute to Natasha, saying her death was a "complete waste of a beautiful life".

She added: "Losing my best friend has been so difficult. Tash will never get to grow old; she will never get to experience excelling in her career. She will never get to experience falling in love, getting married, and having a family of her own which I know she dreamed of. She would have made the best mum.

"She will never get to celebrate another birthday, eat her favourite food, sing her favourite songs, cuddle her family or dance and laugh with her best friends. What happened is a complete waste of a beautiful life. Life without Tash feels like there is no colour, everything feels grey.

"I think about her every single moment of every day, what our lives could have been together, our bond was irreplaceable, and she was truly one in a million.

Imogen spent nearly two weeks in hospital after the crash and said the effects of it continued to haunt her both physically and emotionally.

She went on: "The last year has been the hardest of my life. I've had to try and cope with the trauma of my injuries and how I've gone from an independent and outgoing person to someone a lot more reserved and reliant on others.

"My entire outlook on life has now changed and I'm riddled with immense mental and physical pain at every single moment.

"I'm exhausted at the simplest tasks and I have no idea when or if I will feel better. The physical pain may subside and despite my long list of horrific injuries and ongoing problems I'm having, it's incomparable to the mental wound of losing my best friend.

"It's so painful to contemplate the future in a world without Tash and where I don't know if I'll ever feel like I'm not living in a stranger's body again. I so desperately want my old life back and the realisation that may not be a possibility is sometimes too much to bear."

Following his sentencing, Rob Mazingham from Humberside Police branded Malpass a "reckless and thoughtless individual".

He said: "The uncontrolled speeds that Malpass was driving that day cost a young woman her life, and friends and family are now left with the unimaginable pain of navigating a future without her. He has also left two other people with serious and life-changing injuries.

"Malpass is a reckless and thoughtless individual who had no regard for the safety of the people in his car, or others on the road, "While the result at court today will not take away the pain and suffering caused, I am relieved to think such a dangerous driver has been taken off our roads.

"Following a complex investigation, it was established that the vehicle had been fitted with an illegal mileage blocker that when activated also prevented some of the vehicles emergency braking systems from functioning.

"Malpass' ability to control the vehicle was further hampered due to the fact he was inhaling nitrous oxide from balloons whilst driving.

"Road safety remains a priority for us, and we will seek to take action against anyone driving senselessly, whether that's by driving excessive speeds, using a phone whilst driving, driving under the influence of drink or drugs, not wearing a seatbelt, or doing anything that puts other safe road users at risk."

In victim impact statements read to the court, Ms Woroch's family and friends described her as "one in a million".

"This was not an accident – it was a deliberate act that resulted in the death of my child," her mother Rachel said.

She described it as the worst day of her life, adding that she felt guilt that "I wasn’t there to protect you".

"When I saw the policeman at the door, part of me died that day, too," she added.