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A judge has told a couple that no penalty the court can impose would be worse than the guilt they bear after killing their 1-year-old grandson during a three-point turn at a farm gate.
Michael Angus Murray was behind the wheel in December 2019, at a house on the outskirts of Hamilton.
Lilah Brooks’ 1-year-old grandmother was also in the vehicle, on the bumpy road of the Ōhaupō corral, on December 8, 2019.
While not a “blood grandfather” to Lilah and her siblings, Murray fills that role and is known as Poppy, Judge Jonathan Down said in Hamilton District Court.
Murray, 51, pleaded guilty at the first opportunity to a reckless driving charge that resulted in death.
“I don’t think that anything the court can do could be worse than what has already happened,” Judge Down said in his sentencing Monday.
“And with what will you have to live the rest of your life and what [Lilah’s grandmother] feel that you share responsibility.
“Nothing I can do will bring Lilah back.”
Judge Down sentenced Murray to three months of community detention, 100 hours of community service, and disqualified him from driving for 15 months.
He also ordered a repair for an unspecified amount, saying that he understood that a “repair had been made that will ensure the future of the family.”
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Michael Angus Murray and his partner verified that there were no children around, but Lilah must have appeared while they had a brief conversation before the car started. (File photo)
Lilah’s grandparents and family live on the same property as Ōhaupō, the grandparents in a smaller house so that the young family can have the more spacious house.
The driveway has been redone since Lilah’s death, with access to the two now separate houses, and door latches and hooks.
The afternoon Lilah died, her grandmother got in the car and told Murray there were no children in the yard, Judge Down said.
The couple had a brief discussion before the car started to move and Lilah, who had only been walking for a few months, must have turned up at the time, he said.
She was first hit by the right rear of the car and then hit several more times as the car maneuvered.
A police report of the accident suggested a window of a few seconds in which Murray could have seen it in a side mirror, Judge Down said.
The grandparents didn’t feel anything unusual until they started to exit the main entrance, at which point they immediately stopped and Grandma ran over to Lilah.
At first glance, that may be difficult to imagine, Judge Down said.
However, he suspected it was entirely doable on an uneven farm driveway: “any potholes you felt may have been attributed to potholes and potholes in the road or small pieces of material that had been left in the farm yard.” .
He was also convinced by Murray’s close relationship with Lilah and her family.
With careless driving, the sentence depends on the degree of carelessness, not the consequences, Judge Down said, “although the consequences here are the worst they could be.”
Murray’s case involved moderately severe negligent driving, Judge Down ruled, noting numerous maneuvers and “the knowledge he must have had of the family and the children’s tendency to roam the property.”
The judge had read a statement from Murray, a letter Murray wrote to Lilah’s parents, and a statement from Murray’s partner, Lilah’s grandmother.
The maximum sentence for careless driving is three months in prison, but Judge Downs did not propose to jail Murray.
Murray got discounts for remorse, his guilty plea and “steps he’s taken to try to make this as easy as possible for the family.”
His driving disqualification was 15 months, not the 12 his attorney suggested, as he had some driving convictions from more than a decade ago.
“I wish you and the family the best for the future,” Judge Down said. “This will continue to be a huge burden and hardship for the family.”
In the days after Lilah’s death, her mother Brittany Hall described her as “the most beautiful soul.”
“She was such a cheeky girl with the most stubborn personality and she never let anyone feed her because she had to do it herself,” Hall said in a statement.
She was an “amazing talker”, loved dancing and music, and her favorite songs included Hello delilah and Bubble stop.
“We will be forever grateful for all the love and support we have received and continue to receive during the most painful time of our lives.
“Lilah will be so, so deeply missed.”
