Family of 17-year-old Felicity Pacey tell driver Jack Burkhill “we trusted you and you shattered our world” as 8 year prison sentence passed
“She trusted you, you were the adult, she trusted you’d never put her life in danger.”
The family of Felicity Pacey gave emotional statements during the sentencing of Jack Burkhill at Lincoln Crown Court today (Friday, May 31).
Burkhill, of Seventh Avenue, Grantham, was given eight years and three months in prison.
Burkhill, 21, killed Felicity Pacey when he lost control of is car on Belvoir Road, in Denton.
He was intoxicated with an estimated 95 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres (legal limit 80) which was said to have affected his ability to drive safely.
He was also reportedly going speeds of 100 miles per hour when he lost control of the car which rolled and left the road.
Felicity was thrown from the car during the incident. The court heard it was likely she had not been wearing a seatbelt.
The court heard how Jack had left the scene, leaving Felicity’s sister Rhiannah - at the time his girlfriend- to call her parents and tell them what happened, forcing mum and dad to live the traumatic experience of rushing to their daughter, administering CPR themselves and having to stop traffic and people from taking photos and videos while they waiting for the emergency services to arrive.
The court was filled with family and friends who had come to see Burkhill get sentenced and in emotional victim impact statements in court, Felicity's Mum, dad and sister said they will never be free from the burden of loss and pain.
Mother Helen described her daughter as “beautiful, intelligent, confident, thoughtful and caring” and told the court that she was looking forward to an independent life after her 18th birthday.
She had planned to take a mother-daughter trip to Italy to celebrate her daughter’s milestone.
“My last words I said to her was ‘have fun’, and Fliss said ‘we will’. Those words will haunt me for eternity,” she said.
Addressing Burkhill directly, she said: “As a result of you showing off to the extreme… you killed our precious girl.
“You left the scene like a coward and left us to deal with the consequences.
“She trusted you, you were the adult, she trusted you’d not put her life in danger.”
The family described the battles they had had to live through since losing their youngest daughter.
They accused Burkhill of showing little to no remorse for his actions, having seen him driving since and described seeing him with a new girlfriend.
Prior to the incident, the family described how they had known Burkhill since primary school, even taking him in when he was left homeless and helping him learn to drive.
On the day in question, Burkhill had been helping Felicity’s father Jonathan, where he had drunk two pints before having dinner.
He, Rhiannah and Felicity had then decided to go to a nearby pub where he drank three further pints. It was after leaving the pub that the incident occured.
Another friend had asked to see what the car was capable of and Burkhill had obliged, however after speeding around one bend, the friend, along with Rhiannah soon began to ask Burkhill to slow down and drive more carefully.
It was shortly after that he lost control of the car.
The court was told Jonathan had told Burkhill before he left “not to drive like an idiot”.
Mr Pacey told the court that since the incident he had been left broken, unable to look at pictures and videos of happier times.
“Jack has left us broken forever,” he said.
“You have taken everything from me, you’re a narcissist and I will never forgive you.
“Felicity was my baby girl, the glue that held our family together.
“I welcomed him into my home, I trusted him with my daughters and he promised he would take care of them and never hurt them.”
Sister Rhiannah said the loss of her sister had left a void in her heart that would never be whole.
“The fact that you were not just a reckless driver but also my boyfriend at the time, I trusted you.
“You were supposed to protect us, but instead your actions shattered our world.”
She added: “Rhiannah was my rock, my partner-in-crime and my closest friend.”
Three other friends of Felicity, along with her grandmother also gave written statements to the court.
Phil Gibbs, defending Burkhill, relayed a statement from him to the court in which he said hw accepted that he would receive a significant sentence.
“He has lived for the past year knowing that he faced an inevitably long sentence,” he said.
He said Burkhill had spoken of his remorse during that time.
Mr Gibbs noted that Burkhill had no previous convictions and had pleaded guilty to the charge at the last court date.
The defence for Burkhill presented several statements from friends and former employers describing him as having a positive work ethic and making good contributions to his community.
They said Burkhill was “remorseful in everything he does”.
Former employers described him as “sensitive and sensible”, “thoughtful” and “articulate”.
Giving his verdict, judge Simon Hirst said: “It’s very clear that Felicity was an incredibly loved young woman who had the brightest of bright futures in front of her.
“Your actions changed all that for her and for the ones who loved her.”
Burkhill was sentenced to eight years and three months in prison and disqualified from driving for nine years and 45 days.
