Mum-of-five who urinated on war memorial heckles war veteran in court as judge slams her lack of remorse
The mum-of-five relieved herself on poppy wreaths on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme
THE mum-of-five who urinated on a war memorial screamed “I don’t care” as a war veteran confronted her in court.
Jobless Kelly Martin, 42, was told to be quiet after three outbursts from the dock during statements from war heroes and their families.
The judge slammed her for showing “no remorse” as he sent her case to Crown Court saying he didn’t have enough powers to punish her.
Martin was caught relieving herself next to poppy wreaths on on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme, and was then caught on camera committing the same disrespectful act just a month later.
Both incidents happened during broad daylight in front of bewildered members of the public at the top of the High Street in Grays, Essex.
She was due to be sentenced at Basildon Magistrates’ Court but District Judge John Woollard said he did not feel it was “within his powers” to deal with the case.
He had to tell the defendant to “sit down and be quiet” after several outbursts, including after a victim impact statement from an offended veteran.
When Army veteran Stan Kaye read out an impact statement on behalf of offended veterans she shouted: “I don’t take no notice of that anyway.”
The statement read: “Veterans and members of the public from around the world have been very upset by Miss Martin’s actions with regards to the war memorial in Grays town centre.
“On behalf of serving and veterans of our armed forces and family members of those that war memorials were erected to remember the sacrifice that they made for our freedom and the actions of this person has upset them greatly and are all nauseated.”
Pointing to a number of aggravating features, Judge Woollard referred the case to the crown court. She was remanded in custody and will appear on September 22.
The judge said: “It’s difficult to think of something more outrageous than urinating in a public place on a memorial which is clearly designed to reflect the losses of family in the area around you in two world wars.”
On behalf of serving and veterans of our armed forces and family members of those that war memorials were erected to remember the sacrifice that they made for our freedom and the actions of this person has upset them greatly and are all nauseated
Army veteran Stan Kaye
Despite the shocking images previously emerging of Martin appearing to relieve herself on the monument on June 30, she denied two counts of outraging public decency.
She was found guilty on August 16 at Basildon Magistrates’ Court. She was also convicted on one charge of assaulting a paramedic and one charge of harassing him after throwing an empty glass bottle of Smirnoff vodka at his head.
PC James Shelton, a response officer from Grays, told the court he was “shocked” and “disgusted” when he spotted Martin urinating on the monument on April 13.
He was driving to an incident elsewhere in town when he got stuck in traffic and saw a crowd of 20 people looking at the cenotaph just 15 feet from his car.
PC Shelton said he saw mortified mothers and young children in the crowd looking at the memorial.
He added: “I followed their line of sight towards the cenotaph I saw a blonde female, around 40 years old, in front of the war memorial swaying.
“She was urinating as she stood in front of the cenotaph.
“She was crouching down ever so slightly and I could see a liquid falling to the floor.”
He told the court she noticed him and she shouted “What the f*** are you looking at”.
PC Shelton continued: “I could see she had a can of beer in one hand and she was now struggling with one hand to pull her trousers up.”
When asked what his reaction was he said: “For me the war memorial is something that we need to remember in terms of the people who gave their lives for us, it is something we remember every year.
“I was disgusted someone could be so deliberately offensive towards it.”
PC Shelton said he pulled over and approached Martin who launched into a foul-mouthed tirade.
The court heard Martin continued to be abusive to the officer as she stood in a puddle of her own making.
I could see she had a can of beer in one hand and she was now struggling with one hand to pull her trousers up
PC James Shelton
PC Shelton said: “She was aggressive, she was squaring up to me and I could smell the alcoholic drink she had been drinking.”
Prosecutor Victoria Shehadeh told the court Martin later denied she had committed the act when interviewed by the police.
According to a summary of the interview regarding the April 13 incident Martin told officers “no I don’t drink beer” when asked if she was drunk that day and denied any involvement in urinating on the memorial.
She told officers “I’ve never done a wee on a war memorial” but admitted she was an alcoholic and was regularly drinking in Grays town centre.
She also told officers that if her kids wanted to go in public she would just let them “whenever they wanted”
On the second occasion on June 30, Martin was caught on camera by Edward Cottee, a sales manager working in Grays.
He said “She sat up and walked to the war memorial, I saw her remove her trousers and squat down and urinate”.
Prosecutor Victoria Shehadeh summarised the case by saying “the evidence is simple, crisp and direct and in my submission more than sufficient to prove the case”.
She told the court: “This is a matter of common sense that urinating on a public monument which means so much to so many people is an act which outrages public decency.”
She added that “drunkenness is not a defence that is a simple legal position here”.
Martin’s defence solicitor Alison Gurden asserted Martin was too drunk to know what she was doing.
Martin will now face another hearing at Basildon Crown Court on September 22, where a judge will have the power to impose a sentence beyond the two-year maximum that judges are limited to in magistrates’ court.