The last moments of a teenager's life have been described in graphic detail to a murder trial jury.

A court heard how 17-year-old Debra Carne said "Oh God no" after she was lured to a lonely country lane and petrol was poured over her.

Seconds later, she was a ball of flames.

The court heard the petrol had been squirted over Miss Carne by Kerry Bauer - one of four people accused of killing her last summer.

Miss Carne's body was found later off Dynes Hall Road near Castle Hedingham. She had been asphyxiated and her body set on fire.

The prosecution has alleged the teenager was lured to the scene and then murdered after a row over a relationship between her and one of her alleged killers.

Bauer told the jury how she and Emma Last, who has admitted the murder, were dropped off at the scene and hid in bushes.

Minutes later, Miss Carne arrived in a car driven by Steven Wood, who has denied her murder.

Bauer described how she and Last had dragged Miss Carne from the car before punching and kicking her.

She added: "Emma said 'get the bottle'. I went and got the bottle more or less because Emma told me to get it. She told me to throw it at her.

"I squeezed the bottle over her and the top flew off. It went over me. I had some on my sleeve and the top part of my jacket. At this point Debra had got up and was standing in front of me."

Her barrister, Christopher Kinch QC, asked Bauer: "Did she react to petrol going on her?"

Bauer replied: "She said something like 'Oh God no".

She added: "I said to Emma 'let's go'. Emma was right in the bush at that point. I turned to go to the car and I heard a yelp and a whoosh. I turned round and saw a ball of flames. I felt heat on the side of my face. I just saw a body like falling.

"I froze. I did not know what to do. I heard Emma say 'run' so I ran."

Mr Kinch asked her: "Did you know Emma was going to light something?"

Bauer said: "No."

Mr Kinch: "Did you want that to happen?"

Bauer: "No."

Mr Kinch: "How did you expect the way this would end?"

Bauer replied: "I thought it would be just petrol thrown over her and then go home."

Mr Kinch: "When you went off what did you think had happened to Debra?"

Bauer: "I knew she had been set alight. I didn't know she was going to die."

Bauer also told the court the next day she kept thinking about the night before.

"I was hoping she was in hospital. Then we had the radio on and I heard there was a body found. I was shocked and I was scared."

She also said she had only intended to scare someone that night and did not intend to seriously hurt Miss Carne.

And she added: "I'm sorry for what happened. If I had known it was going to end that way I would never have gone."

Earlier, Bauer told the jury how she had a sexual relationship with Last after problems with her boyfriend.

She had become pregnant but the relationship with her boyfriend became strained and she turned to her friend Last.

Bauer, who gave birth earlier this year, said: "We were going through a really bad patch. I turned to Emma for comfort."

The trial continues

Three people - Nicole Hollinshead, 18, of Ravens Avenue, Halstead, Steven Wood, 22, of Parker Way, Halstead, and Kerry Bauer, 20, of The Foyer hostel, Braintree, deny murdering Debra Carne on July 28 last year.

They also deny another charge of conspiracy to inflict grieveous bodily harm to 17-year-old Miss Carne, of Swan Court, Swan Street, Sible Hedingham, on the same date.

Hollinshead faces a charge of impeding the arrest of others by burning items belonging to Miss Carne. Another woman, Emma Last, 18, also of the Foyer, Braintree, has admitted the murder charge.

Published Friday, July 11, 2003

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