‘I will forever regret the day I allowed him into my life’
A mum has told her ex-boyfriend she will "forever regret the day she allowed him into her life" after he killed her brother. Martin O'Donovan died aged 47[1] after being hit by Stephen Bates' Ford Fiesta on Stonyhurst Road in Woolton[2] following his mum's 70th birthday party.
While the two were initially said to have "hit it off straight away" after meeting for the first time during the celebrations, they later became embroiled in a drunken punch up when the 42-year-old defendant apparently insisted on driving home, despite having downed a cocktail of Jagerbombs, Stella Artois, Red Bull and vodka[3]. He then allegedly threatened that he would "pay someone to come and get" the other man[4] before returning to the scene in his car and "deliberately driving straight at him".
Mr O'Donovan was left trapped beneath the chassis as a result, with his uncles and cousins having to work together in order to lift the vehicle up and free him. However, he subsequently died in hospital after suffering serious head injuries during the incident.
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Bates, of Herondale Road in Mossley Hill[5], meanwhile went on to tell the officers who arrested him "I know what I've done, I've f***ed up". He was found guilty of Mr O'Donovan's murder[6] earlier this month following a trial.
Having returned to Liverpool Crown Court[7] in order to be sentenced yesterday, Friday, a statement was read out on behalf of Martin's sister and Bates' then partner Susanne Lewzey, in which she said: "The 18th of April 2025 was a family milestone, a celebration of my mum's birthday, a great night, until it wasn't. Celebration turned to horror, trauma, devastation, utter disbelief.
"I still can't quite believe someone I loved deliberately did this to another human being, let alone my brother, right outside my house. Since that day, every time I return home, I'm faced with the spot where my brother lay dying in my arms.
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"It was all so senseless. Martin's life was taken and so many others were ruined in the process, and for what? Anger?
Ego? My family was torn apart, my world turned upside down overnight.
"The most devastating thing was having to explain to my children why someone who was in their daily lives had killed their uncle. He deserved so much more.
"I moved into my house nine months before this happened.
Since that night, it will forever be the place where Martin was murdered. As a result, we can no longer bear to live there.
"I've lived and breathed these horrific events every day for the last six months. I still don't feel it's real.
I still expect Martin to walk through the door and crack a joke. Advertisement Advertisement
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"Martin was an amazing, loving, strong and fiercely loving person. One of the last things he said to me was 'it's my job to protect you, I love you sis'.
Those worlds will haunt me forever."
Ms Lewzey added that Bates had "shown no remorse for actions", adding: "It's heart breaking. I don't recognise the person I knew and loved, and I will forever regret the day I allowed him into my life.
"My family and I will be forever heartbroken. Our pain will never fade.
Nothing will ever bring Martin back. He will never have the luxury of growing old with his family."
John Benson KC, prosecuting, also read a statement on behalf of Martin's mum Susan O'Donovan, who told the court: "This still doesn't feel real. One minute, I was dancing with my son on my birthday.
Little did I know it was to be my last dance, my last kiss. The next thing, I saw was my son trapped under a car, images I will never forget. Advertisement
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"I'd like to say thank you Martin for being you.
Martin had a beautiful soul, knowledge and wisdom, and made an impact on everyone he met. I'm so proud of the man you became. No one can take the memories away.
They are mine to keep.
"This is not the end. It is a lifetime of loss that has destroyed a family. Martin was our hero with the biggest smile, our little Superman.
Our hearts are empty without him. Thank you for being you. Keep smiling, my beautiful boy."
Martin's brother Tony Shepherd said in his own statement: "His warmth and energy touched so many lives.
His motto was 'keep smiling'. He truly lived by it. He was a man who had sunshine in his heart, who would light up any room.
He brought joy and laughter.
"He was a man I trusted with my life. He was a source of wise counsel through so many of life's ups and downs. He was a man of principle, honest as the day is long, an exemplary human being.
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"He was on the cusp of a life changing opportunity to work in Dubai, the culmination of decades of hard work. He spoke of it with excitement and hope. His life was taken on our mother's 70th birthday, a day that should have been one of joy and celebration.
Instead, it became a day of unimaginable horror. My brother was denied the future he so richly deserved."
Having been abroad at the time of his brother's death, Mr Shepherd added: "I walked into a family in pieces. I saw my mother and sisters broken.
I witnessed the depths of their despair, the endless tears and sleepless nights. I had to find the words to tell my young son that his uncle, who was his hero, the man he was walking in the Welsh hills with a few weeks before, was dead.
"Years we would have shared, filled with laughter, love and light, have been stolen from us. We take solace knowing that his spirit lives on in everyone who knew him"
46-year-old Martin O'Donovan, who died following an incident on Stonyhurst Road, Woolton -Credit:Merseyside Police
Mr Benson previously told the jury during the prosecution's opening[8] that the party at Ms Lewzey's home on the evening of April 18 this year had "started off as a happy family occasion", with a "jolly atmosphere" being described as they celebrated their mum's 70th birthday.
However, Bates was said to have become "progressively more inebriated" during the course of the evening. Advertisement Advertisement
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This led to a row between him and Ms Lewzey, his girlfriend of 19 months, during which he refused to take a taxi home and instead insisted on driving. Mr O'Donovan, who had only met his sister's partner for the first time that evening but had "got on well" with him, was asked to reason with him as a result.
But the two men instead ended up exchanging punches in the front garden, with Bates shouting after the fighting had been broken up: