Woman in love triangle who mowed down lover’s ex-wife is cleared of tried homicide – after telling police she meant to place her automobile in reverse
A woman branded a ‘homewrecker’ for her involvement in a love triangle has been cleared of trying to murder her partner’s ex-wife by running her over after telling police she had been trying to put her car in reverse.
Lucy Povey, 35, was cleared of attempted murder by a jury on Thursday after she was accused of deliberately driving her car into Sharon Dorkin.
Shocking CCTV shown to Winchester Crown Court showed Povey, who did not deny being at the wheel, hitting Sharon Dorkin with her Ford in Basingstoke, Hampshire.
Mrs Dorkin, 41, had called Povey a ‘homewrecker’ and said that she was her ex-husband’s ‘new tart’, it was heard.
Povey was also accused of two counts of grievous bodily harm, having allegedly struck two other women with Mrs Dorkin in her vehicle.
But she was yesterday found not guilty on all charges after telling police officers at interview that she had mistakenly put the car into first gear rather than reverse in a moment of panic.
Mrs Dorkin told the court that she had recently separated from her husband Lee Dorkin when she ‘heard rumours that he was messing about with Lucy Povey’.
The collision – which took place around a month after the couple split – occurred after Mrs Dorkin and her sister Kayleigh were accused of smashing the windows of Mr Dorkin’s car.
Lucy Povey, 35, was cleared of attempted murder by a jury on Thursday after she struck her partner’s ex-wife with her car
Sharon Dorkin, pictured, told jurors she had heard rumours the husband she had recently separated from had been ‘messing around’ with Povey
The collision – which took place around a month after the couple split – occurred after Mrs Dorkin and her sister Kayleigh were accused of smashing the windows of Mr Dorkin’s car
Povey turned up outside Mrs Dorkin’s property and a violent scuffle broke out involving a glass bottle, the court heard.
Povey then allegedly got into her car and drove straight into the two women and Mrs Dorkin’s neighbour, Tanya Johnston.
Prosecutors alleged that after she ‘slammed’ into the trio, she drove her Ford ‘deliberately’ at Mrs Dorkin, who was on the floor having fallen from the car bonnet.
Mrs Dorkin suffered a fractured knee following the incident. which occurred at around 11pm on November 7, 2024.
Ms Johnston’s ankle was broken in two places and her sister Kayleigh suffered cuts on her face, the court heard.
Povey claimed in a police interview that she had panicked and put it into first gear, rather than reverse, leading to the collision.
Giving evidence during the trial, Mrs Dorkin said she remembered the car hitting her right hip ‘the first time I came into contact’ with the vehicle.
She said her next memory was ‘being on the floor and my sister screaming and yelling because she thought I was dead.’
The court heard there was a ‘growing animosity’ between the women before the incident.
