My Michelle.- Complete Story!

Chapter 53 - Conclusion

A court date was set for the trial of Peter Hopkins. He was accused of the murder of James Paul McCartney on March 15th 1988. Michelle had to attend court, accompanied as ever by Mike, Paul’s brother. She took the stand.

“Mrs. McCartney , can you describe to the court the events of Tuesday March 15th 1986?”

“My husband and I were due at our youngest son’s parents evening at 6.30pm. We decided we would walk to the school as parking was always difficult at school events. We saw his teacher then walked home together. We were walking along Cavendish Avenue in St. Johns Wood, very close to home. The street was quiet, with not much traffic. There were people around, especially near our house as fans frequently hang around there, hoping to see my husband. We were on the pavement opposite our house, waiting to cross. I looked up the road to check before crossing when I saw a large vehicle, a 4x4 coming down the road. It seemed to be driving fast for a quiet road. I looked down the road to see when, from no where, I heard a shout. I looked and I saw that the 4x4 was driving down the pavement towards us. Someone pushed me out of the way of the way of the car. I was told later that this was paul, my husband. He himself was unable to get out of the path of the car. He was tossed into the air as the car hit him and landed further down the road. I ran to him but he was unconscious. He was bleeding from his head and his ears. I realized that the 4x4 had turned round and had zoomed away from the incident. Paramedics came and Paul and I went to the hospital.”

“What happened next?”

“Paul was very badly hurt. Extensive internal injuries and well as brain damage.” She stopped, fighting back tears, “We were told the following day that he was brain dead and would never recover. We had to decide when to turn off all life support, which we did.”

“How long did your husband survive after life support was withdrawn?”

“Less than a minute.”

“Thank you Mrs. McCartney, no further questions.”

Michelle returned to her seat next to Mike and the children. He squeezed her hand and passed her a clean handkerchief. “OK?” he whispered.

Nodding, she turned her attention back to the main court. Michelle recognized the doctor who had now taken the stand.

“Dr. Barton, you are the first member of the medical team which examined Mr. McCartney on entry to hospital?”

“Yes I was.”

“Can you describe your specialism Dr. Barton?”

“Yes. I specialize in head and brain injuries. I operate on people who have extensive damage but have a chance of survival. I was called to A and E after the notification form the paramedics told us of Mr. McCartney’s apparent injuries.”

“Could you describe Mr. McCartney’s injuries please?”

“When Mr. McCartney was brought into the A and E he was already ventilated as he was unable to breathe unaided. He had extensive head injuries, caused after he hit the road. His injuries suggested that he had travelled over 50 metres after the initial impact with the vehicle before falling to the floor.  The impact of his head on the road caused his brain to be crushed by extensive skull fragmenting. He was bleeding in the brain which was causing further build up of pressure within the brain. He was heavily sedated transferred to ICU as there was little we could do with him at that stage. From there he was made as comfortable as possible. We had identified internal bleeding and extensive damage to his spleen, diaphragm and liver. Mr. McCartney would not have survived any attempt to operate at that stage. A decision was made to carry out a full body scan to establish his full range of injuries. It was then we discovered that Mr. McCartney was technically brain dead.”

“What does that term actually mean Dr. Barton?”

“Brain dead means that the brain no longer functions. It does not send or receive the signals needed to keep a person alive. Mr. McCartney was technically Brain Dead at the scene of the incident. The head injury sustained as he fell to the ground killed him there and then. He was breathing with medical intervention only and had no chance of recovery.”

“When did you share this news with Mrs. McCartney?”

“I broke this news to her early the following morning. I explained what it meant to both her and Mr. McCartney’s brother who was with her. She was naturally very distressed and wanted to check if anything could be done. Mrs. McCartney agreed to turn of life support once her children had come to say their goodbyes to their father.”

In all the trial lasted just 4 days. On February  19th 1986 Peter Hopkins was found guilty of the murder of James Paul McCartney. He was sentenced to life in prison. Michelle walked from the court, flanked by Mike and the children to face a barrage of questions and photographers.

“Mrs. McCartney, do you wish to make any comment about today’s judgement?”

Michelle stopped, asked Mike to take the children to the car. She then turned her attention to the cameras and prepared to speak. She knew a statement of some kind was expected"

“I am pleased that the court has found Peter Hopkins guilty of the murder of my husband Paul. However, no sentence will ever be enough to put right the pain and heartache this whole event has caused my family. No punishment will bring back the loving husband, father and brother that Paul was to us all.

I now wish to try to move forward with my family and rebuild out lives without him and I continue to plead further with the press to respect our right to do this privately.

Thank you.”

Ignoring further questions, she pushed herself through the crowd and to the waiting cars to take them home…to their future.