Lisnaskea man found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving

The self-confessed uninsured and unlicensed driver from Castlebalfour Park, Lisnaskea who claimed he bore "no responsibility' for 23-year-old Natasha's death, lost control of her blue Vauxhall Corsa car, smashing it into a tree at over 60mph and flinging the young mum to her death through the front windscreen.

It took the Dungannon Crown Court jury of eight men and four women just over an hour to convict 23-year-old Phair of the total of nine charges, including causing Natasha's death, causing grievous bodily injury to another girl, a back seat passenger, and supplying and possessing of the Class A drug Cocaine.

Sitting just across from Phair, in the public gallery was Natasha's mum Jill McKeown, who was comforted by detective who lead the investigation into her daughter's death. She later left court not wanting to comment on the jury's verdicts.

Judge Neil Rafferty QC told Phair, already serving a sentence for burglary, that he was ordering a pre-sentence report and will relist the case in four weeks.

Awaiting sentence with him is 28-year-old Padraig Toher, from Bawnboy, Ballyconnell, Co Cavan, for Ms Carruthers' manslaughter, and Andrew Waters (42) of Station Road, Florencecourt, for involvement in drug dealing with Phair, which ultimately sparked the chase.

While it was said the "possible immediate cause of the Corsa losing control" was Toher's black BMW nudging it, by their verdicts the jury must also have accepted the prosecution contention that Phair, "had no right to be driving as he did that night", resulting as it did in the "needless death of a young woman.”

In terms, the jury must also have rejected defence submissions that Phair was 'a victim "who in a 'blind panic .... fled to save life, to keep going, to get home".