Courtney Donnelly’s family demand justice after they hear Corby driver who killed her will be out of prison in just two years
‘It’s just a little holiday for him’
Courtney Donnelly, a loving mum to Lily-Mae, two, tragically lost her life at the hands of disqualified driver Steven Gaskell.
Image: The Donnelly family.
The devastated family of a Corby[1] mum who died after her drug dealer boyfriend crashed the car they were in say they do not believe justice has been done. The court heard he had been caught driving while banned seven times. Prosecutor Andy Peet said he ‘simply didn’t care’.
Courtney’s aunty Kelly Donnelly gave a moving victim impact statement in court and told Gaskell that she her mum would never come to terms with the death of her daughter. But following the sentencing hearing, Courtney’s family were distraught at the ‘lenient’ jail term he was given. Because he has been on remand since the crash, he will be out of prison in two years and two months.
Now they say they will fight for justice for Courtney because they do not believe Gaskell’s sentence was long enough. Aunt Kelly Donnelly said: “It’s like my niece’s life never even meant anything to anybody. “He’s still going to have his life.
He said in court he’s not going to see his kids, well Courtney will never see her daughter again. “He’s got the rest of his life to see his. “Lily-Mae is just two years old and she’ll never see her mum.
“It’s too lenient. It’s nothing but a little holiday for him. He’s not even apologised for what he did in that car.”
Courtney was a dedicated mum to Lily-Mae. She enjoyed posting cute videos of their exploits on TikTok[2]. Chillingly, the last ever video Courtney posted on the day she died showed images of her and Gaskell with the hashtag #thingshappenforareason.
Kelly added: “We’re so angry that he’ll be out so soon.
It’s not justice.”