Marcia Grant: Boy said 'looks like I've got my first kill' after running down Sheffield grandma with own car

A teenage boy has admitted killing a Sheffield grandmother hit by her own car, with a guilty plea to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving.

Marcia Grant, aged 60, died outside her home in the Greenhill area of Sheffield on April 5, 2023.

The 13-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had been charged with Marcia's murder, and denied the charge at a previous hearing.

But during a Sheffield Crown Court hearing held today (Tuesday, October 3, 2023), the boy entered a guilty plea to an alternative count of causing death by dangerous driving, which was accepted by the prosecution.

Dressed in a white shirt and black tie, the boy spoke only to enter his guilty plea.

No details of the incident were given in the brief court hearing on Tuesday, where the youngster appeared by video link.

But, when he first appeared before court in April, prosecutor Gary Crothers told Sheffield Youth Court that police at the scene noted that the boy said "Is she dead?", "Looks like I got my first kill?", and "It was an accident, I swear."

Ben Campbell, defending, said the issue in relation to these comments was "what you can infer from them in all the circumstances".

Mr Crothers told the youth court: "At around 7pm on the evening in question this defendant is seen on CCTV attempting to take Mrs Grant's car.

"Mrs Grant tries to stop him by going behind the car.

"On CCTV, the vehicle is driven slightly erratically at this time and it does come to a stop.

"Mrs Grant positions herself behind the vehicle. The vehicle reverses, causing her to fall on her back and her head impacts with the ground.

"She was trapped under the vehicle, her husband tried to break the window of the car to get the defendant out of the car."

The prosecutor said the vehicle then reversed "at some speed causing the catastrophic injuries to Mrs Grant".

He said that she was pronounced dead at the scene just after 7.30pm by attending paramedics.

Today's hearing was heard in front of High Court judge, Mrs Justice May, who adjourned sentence until December 1, 2023.

Speaking outside court following the boy's guilty plea, the Senior Investigating Oficer, Detective Chief Inspector Andrea Bowell, from South Yorkshire Police, said: "Since Marcia's death, my thoughts have been with her family and friends.

"They have lost a loved one under the most tragic of circumstances and will have to live with the heartbreaking consequences of the events of that evening for the rest of their lives.

"We continue to support her loved ones, and they wish for their privacy to continue to be respected."

In the days following her death, Marcia's family released a statement, which said: "Marcia was a warm, loving and dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, sister and friend and a pillar of her community."