Merry van Woodenberg’s client acquitted of hit-and-run of pregnant woman in ‘honey trap’ case

Merry van Woodenberg, instructed by Hojol Uddin and Jade Halliday-Mitchell of JMW Solicitors, acted for a man accused of the robbery and ‘hit and run’ of a pregnant woman.

During the trial at Wood Green Crown Court, the prosecution alleged that the defendant had attempted to rob two females of their mobile phones, before purposively knocking one of the women down with his car, and then fleeing the scene.

The defence case was that the two females had in fact attempted to trap the defendant in a ‘honey trap’, using a method known as ‘cat fishing’. The pregnant female had targeted the defendant on the dating website Bumble, and hidden her pregnancy from him with misleading photographs. After the females then stole from the defendant, he attempted to seize their mobile phones for evidence of the trap. As he tried to escape, the pregnant female threw herself under his car, leaving him unable to manoeuvre around her. The females then loudly accused the defendant of trying to rape and rob them, so that passersby attempted to intervene, forcing the defendant to flee the scene for his own safety.

The jury unanimously found Merry’s client not guilty of all offences within an hour of deliberations.