A MURDERER who killed a father-of-three by ramming him off his moped has been jailed for life.
Keith McCarthy will serve at least 22 years behind bars before he sees the light of day again for his savage attack.
A jury at Chelmsford Crown Court unanimously found the 42-year-old guilty of murdering Kerrin Repman in Dovercourt and inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent in April 2020.
An 80-year-old woman was left with lifechanging injuries as Kerrin’s riderless moped skidded across the surface in Marine Parade, Dovercourt, and struck her.
Witnesses spotted McCarthy and a passenger in his BMW “thumping the dashboard like a boxer pumping yourselves up before a fight” as the killer hunted down Kerrin, 29, in an 80mph pursuit.
“During the last minute of his life, Kerrin Repman would have been terrified knowing you were pursuing him in a high powered car with intent of causing him harm,” said Judge Jeremy Donne KC.
The seven day trial heard McCarthy, of Hordle Street, Dovercourt, had become aggrieved by a drug debt owed to him by a man Kerrin was dealing illicit goods for.
As a result, the murderer began to take his anger out on Kerrin, headbutting the dad-of-three and trying to force him to get in the BMW in the days prior to the fatal collision.
On the afternoon of April 15, 2020, a chance encounter between the two in Fronks Road saw McCarthy perform a “reckless” U-turn and launch his harrowing chase.
The pursuit saw McCarthy hit speeds of up to 80mph in a 30mph limit while Kerrin’s moped struggled to surpass speeds of more than 50mph as he attempted his desperate escape.
As the road narrowed in Marine Parade, McCarthy cut in front of a car and struck the back of the 29-year-old’s vehicle, catapulting him onto the road surface and killing him.
The murderer then fled to Ireland before he was eventually extradited and arrested in the UK.
Condeming McCarthy to a life behind bars until he is at least 64-years-old, Judge Donne offered his condolences to Kerrin’s family.
During the sentencing at St Albans Crown Court, he said: “No sentence imposed by this court can restore what they have lost”.
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