1:32pm Friday 5th February 2010
A 21-YEAR-OLD woman has appeared in court charged with the murder of a man who was run down and killed by a car.
Shaun Dalby, 28, who lived in a flat in Church Street, Coxhoe, was named as the victim of the incident, which happened at about 1.30am on Tuesday.
He was certified dead beneath the wheels of a Fiat Punto in the car park of the Co-op store in Petterson Dale, which backs onto Church Street, the main street through the former pit village a few miles from Durham City.
Naomi Jane Myers, 21, of Park Avenue, Coxhoe, was brought before a district judge sitting at North Durham Magistrates’ Court, in Consett, yesterday, charged with Mr Dalby’s murder.
Ms Myers was brought from the court cells and, flanked by two dock officers, confirmed her name and address.
She acknowledged that she understood the charge she is facing, although it was not formally put to her by the court clerk during a hearing lasting less than three minutes.
Under new court rules that came into force on Monday, bail applications can only be heard by crown court judges, so Ms Myers was led back to the cells ahead of a hearing at Newcastle Crown Court today.
A group of four women and three men, who appeared to be friends or members of her family, were led into part of the public gallery by a court usher to witness the short hearing. Several police officers were also present at the court building.
Following the incident on Tuesday, police sealed off a section of Church Street while officers investigated.
Mr Dalby’s body remained under the car until it was taken away at about 2pm. A post-mortem examination has taken place.
The entrance to the car park was screened by a large tarpaulin.
The street was closed to through traffic and buses were diverted.
A team of 20 detectives was investigating, with back-up provided by uniformed officers and community support officers.
Chief Insp Colin Williamson, commander for Durham and Chester-le-Street, said the death was linked to an incident of criminal damage – thought to be a broken house window – that happened in a nearby street about half an hour earlier.
Three men were involved in that and one was arrested and was being questioned by officers.
Chief Insp Williamson said: “There is a half-hour window where we don’t know what happened and we are appealing for anyone who may have seen or heard anything to get in touch with us.
“Half an hour later, we received a report from the ambulance of a person who had been knocked down by a vehicle at the rear of the Co-op. Police attended and found that the paramedics were trying to revive him. However, he died.
“We are not treating this as a random attack. Both the victim and the suspect are known to each other and the background to these incidents will be fully investigated.”
He said people should not be worried that it was a random attack.
Ivan Lowther, who runs Coates Butchers in Church Street, said the mood in the village was sombre.
He said: “It is a shock for something like this to happen.
You just don’t expect to get up in the morning to news like that.
“I don’t know the circumstances behind it. We have just got to keep an open mind until we hear all the circumstances but there is no excuse for killing someone.
“The mood in the village is relief to get back to normal, but there is a lot of curiosity still. People are wondering what the hell happened.”
Petterson Dale resident David Gibbon, a postal worker, said: “It is unusual for round here because it is very quiet.’’ Serviceman Terry O’Connor, another resident of the estate, said: “I knew something was amiss when I saw a white tent and then I heard about it on the news.’’ A group was launched on the Facebook social networking site called ‘RIP Shaun Dalby’ following Mr Dalby’s death.
Among the postings was Suzie Kat’s, which read: “Too many angels taken too early.
R.I.P Shine bright, Shaun. Respect to your family.’’ Michael Roberts wrote: “Will always remember Shaun as a genuine lad and the memories are all good.”
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the investigation team on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555111.
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