Dagenham Iceland killing: Father and son found guilty of murder

John Avers was killed in a "barbaric" manner, according to police

A father and son have been found guilty of murdering a man who was held down and run over four times in a supermarket car park.

Bobby Ternent, 32, and Gary Ternent, 59, killed John Avers outside Iceland in Dagenham, east London, on 13 September 2020.

Mr Avers, 47, suffered "catastrophic" injuries after he was held down by Gary Ternent and repeatedly driven over by Bobby Ternent, the Old Bailey heard.

Police branded the attack "barbaric".

The victim's family wept in court as the defendants were found guilty of his murder.

Gary and Bobby Ternent (right) carried out "a cold and calculated execution", a detective said

Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones QC had previously told jurors that Mr Avers had been picked up by the defendants in a "sporty" BMW and driven to the car park, in Whalebone Lane South.

He told the Old Bailey that Mr Avers was then deliberately run over, in front of witnesses.

During the trial, the victim's family left the Old Bailey courtroom while CCTV footage of the killing was shown.

Following the pair's arrests, Bobby Ternent admitted running over his friend Mr Avers in a row over money.

He claimed the victim had asked him to look after £40,000 then screamed at him that the money was "short" when they arranged to hand it back.

The jury heard he had tried to drive over Mr Avers' legs to stop him getting up and had thrown the money out of the car as he drove away.

The BMW used to run over Mr Avers was found burnt out

Afterwards, Bobby Ternent changed his clothes at home and burnt the BMW X6, which had false plates, jurors heard.

Det Ch Insp Rogers from the Met Police said: "This was nothing short of a cold and calculated execution.

"What Bobby and Gary did to their supposed good friend was absolutely shocking and was extremely distressing for those who witnessed it and those who have had to watch the graphic CCTV.

"John was already lying defenceless on the floor; there is absolutely no excuse that can justify holding him down and then running him over not once, not twice, but four times."