JUSTICE AT LAST
US spy’s wife Anne Sacoolas ADMITS killing Harry Dunn in horror crash three years after teen, 19, mowed down
A US spy's wife today pleaded guilty to running down and killing Harry Dunn in a horror crash following a three-year fight for justice.
Anne Sacoolas collided with the 19-year-old's motorbike as she drove for 400 yards on the wrong side of the road after leaving RAF Croughton in 2019.
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The 45-year-old, who is reportedly married to a US intelligence official, was granted diplomatic immunity after the crash and flew back to the States.
Sacoolas appeared at the Old Bailey today via video-link from Washington where she was initially charged with causing death by dangerous driving.
She instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving, which was accepted by the prosecution.
Harry's parents Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn held their heads in their hands as the plea was made.
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Sacoolas will be sentenced at the end of November with Judge Mrs Justice Cheema-Grubb saying she should appear in person.
The maximum sentence for death by careless driving is five years imprisonment - although a community punishment or suspended jail sentence is often given.
Today's plea brings an end to a three-year fight for justice that saw a trip to the White House to appeal to then-President Donald Trump and endless meetings with politicians.
Harry's mum Charlotte said today her family accepted the lesser plea as they did not wish to "separate [Sacoolas] from her children".
But she admitted she "of course" wants Sacoolas to return to the UK for sentencing.
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She also told how she made a promise to Harry on the night he died to get justice for him.
Charlotte added: "That night was and will always be the worst ever of our lives.
"I had no idea of what laid ahead, I had no idea that it was going to be this hard, but making that promise not only to him directly, hoping wherever he was at that point.
"I've never broken a promise to either of my boys, and I damn well was not going to start when I found out that it was not going to be as easy as I would have assumed it should have been.
"Getting to court and getting to where we are now has been the most monumental thing for me because I can talk to him now and tell him we've done it. Promise complete.
"I feel I can breathe easier. I don't have that guilt on my shoulders of not having done it yet.
"I've gone from not being able to feel proud because it hadn't yet been done, to now where I can say I now do feel proud.
"Most of all I feel proud of Harry because, without the values he had when he was with us, I'm not sure if we would have been as strong as what we are to get the job done."
Fight for justice
2019:
August 27:
Motorcyclist Harry Dunn collides with a Volvo outside RAF Croughton in Northamptonshire.
Harry is taken to the John Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, but is pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
August 28:
Northamptonshire Police interview 42-year-old suspect Anne Sacoolas, who is later granted diplomatic immunity.
September 15:
Sacoolas leaves the country on a United States Air Force plane, but the Dunn family are not informed of her departure until three weeks later.
Northamptonshire Police are also not told that she has left the UK.
October 4:
Harry's parents, Charlotte Charles and Tim Dunn, call on US President Donald Trump to intervene and waive immunity for Sacoolas.
October 5:
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab urges US Ambassador Woody Johnson to waive immunity for Sacoolas.
October 6:
Police write to the US Embassy in London to demand immunity is waived for Sacoolas.
October 7:
Prime Minister Boris Johnson says the US should "reconsider its position" on the immunity given to Sacoolas.
October 9:
Mrs Charles and Mr Dunn attend a meeting with the Foreign Secretary which leaves them "angry and frustrated" and feeling as though it was a "publicity stunt".
Mr Johnson speaks to Mr Trump personally to ask him to reconsider the US's position on the immunity granted to Sacoolas.
October 12:
Sacoolas breaks her silence and issues a statement through her lawyer, saying the crash left her "devastated".
October 13:
The Foreign Office writes to Mr Dunn's family saying Sacoolas does not have diplomatic immunity.
It becomes clear that her husband was an intelligence officer and not a registered diplomat in a recognised role, and therefore neither he nor his wife are entitled to diplomatic immunity.
October 14:
Mr Dunn's family hold a press conference in New York after taking their fight for justice to the US.
October 15:
Mr Dunn's family announce their intention to launch a judicial review into the advice given by the Foreign Office to Northamptonshire Police over the diplomatic immunity given to Sacoolas.
The White House calls an "urgent" meeting with Mr Dunn's family and they have talks with President Trump.
Mrs Charles and Mr Dunn refuse to meet Sacoolas, who was in the room next door as they met Mr Trump.
October 20:
The Dunn family are told Northamptonshire Police have passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) for a charging decision.
October 25:
Radd Seiger, the spokesman for Harry's family, confirms they would be taking legal action against the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and referring Northamptonshire Police to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over their roles in the investigation.
October 31:
Northamptonshire Police confirm that they had interviewed the suspect in the case in the US and were passing the file of evidence over to the CPS.
Superintendent Sarah Johnson said: "We can confirm that we have completed an interview of the suspect in connection with the death of Harry Dunn, the details of which will be provided to the CPS for consideration alongside the rest of the evidential file already submitted."
November 10:
In a letter to Mr Dunn's family, the FCO says the legal claim against them and Mr Raab was "without foundation".
It also said it would "oppose and seek costs" for any judicial review.
November 12:
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry criticises Mr Raab for "threatening financial hardship" on the Dunn family.
December 17
Mr Dunn's family meet with Mr Raab again, and the Foreign Secretary then urged Ms Sacoolas to "come back to the UK and co-operate with the criminal justice process".
December 20
The CPS charges Sacoolas with causing death by dangerous driving.
2022:
September 29
Sacoolas appears in a UK court via videolink for the first time and is granted unconditional bail
October 20
She pleads guilty to the lesser charge of causing death by careless driving
A row has rumbled on over her extradition - with the Home Office launching proceedings to bring her back to the UK in 2019.
But the US State Department has the power to refuse extradition if they believe she still has diplomatic immunity and if the alleged offence is not a crime in both countries.
Sacoolas also released a statement saying she would not "voluntarily" return to Britain to face a "potential jail sentence for what was a terrible but unintentional accident".
The CPS charged Sacoolas in 2019 with causing death by dangerous driving.
It came after a file of evidence was handed to the CPS following an interview by Northamptonshire Police with Sacoolas in the US.
Harry's mum said they had to "rely" on the Crown Prosecution Service to carry out "whatever process they felt was suitable".
She added: "Before we knew she'd left the country, from day one, alongside fulfilling that promise to Harry, we wanted to make sure that she did do what you and I would have to do.
"Immediately, we said that we didn't wish to separate her from her children. It's not their fault. Some of them were in the car with her that night.
"I can't even begin to imagine what nightmares they've had since then, because from the bits and pieces we do know, it was horrific.
"So with it being a remote process, we were more than happy with that, for their sake. They've always been in the forefront of our mind.
"When you're a mum and you know that you always want to be there to protect your children, her children are still important.
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"So we just had to put our faith in our justice system, and we always did have faith in our justice system. And we had to rely on them to carry out whatever process they felt was suitable.
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"We've never put any investment of thought or effort or any of our personal time into worrying about that. We're just happy with accountability."
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