Father denies killing daughter, 5, by driving into icy river saying 'They were my world'

'They were my world': Father denies killing daughter, 5, by driving into icy rive

 

A father accused of driving his car into a freezing river in an attempt to murder his two children told a jury today: 'They were my world.'

Christopher Grady's five-year-old daughter Gabrielle died when she was trapped underwater. His son Ryan, then six, was rescued by police divers.

Grady, 42, who allegedly rang their mother warning her that she had seconds to say goodbye to her children, denies murder and attempted murder.

Tragedy: Gabrielle Grady, who died when her father's car plunged into the River Avon, with her brother Ryan, who survived

Today, at the start of the defence in his trial at Birmingham Crown Court, Grady was asked by his lawyer Timothy Raggatt QC how he felt about Ryan and Gabrielle. He  said: 'They were my world, I loved them. I had five children and I loved all of my children more than anything in the world. I still do.'

Grady, who also has three children from a previous relationship, said that he had been taking anti-depressants prescribed by a doctor 'probably for about the last two-and-a-half or three years'.

He said that towards the end of 2009 his ex-partner Kim Smith, 37, the mother of Gabrielle and Ryan, was 'trying to stop me seeing the kids completely'.

Family: Christopher Grady with his children Ryan and Gabrielle. He is on trial accused of deliberately driving his car with the children in it into a freezing river

He said: 'It just ground me down, it got worse and worse. The more she pushed, the more it just made me feel useless and worthless.

'I just didn't really want to live. But I did. I felt like there was nothing left but I always knew the children needed me, all five of them.'

The court has heard that Gabrielle spent two hours submerged in the River Avon in Evesham, Worcestershire, stuck in her father's car after he drove into the water on February 11 last year. She died three days later.

The jurors have heard that Grady and Miss Smith had a 'volatile' relationship and often argued about his access to their children.

Grief: Kim Smith, the mother of Gabrielle and Ryan Grady, arriving at court in Birmingham

Giving evidence to the court last week, Miss Smith said that Grady had warned her she had 10 seconds to 'say goodbye' to their children before driving away, calling out the word 'river'.

Miss Smith wept as she told the jury: 'The last thing he said to me was "river". His face was all contorted - vile.'

The court heard that Grady's life 'started to unravel' at the beginning of 2010. Jurors heard he had been evicted from his home because of rent arrears and owed £2,800 to Robert Lewis, landlord of his business premises.

Mr Lewis said he thought that Grady, a self-employed welder and blacksmith, of no fixed address, was 'as low as a man can get', and might kill himself in the weeks before the incident.

Grady denies the charges.

He told the court he could remember little about how he ended up in the river. He said: 'I can remember vaguely driving round the field, just driving round the field.'

Recalling the moment his car hit the water, he said: 'I just heard a really strange noise, like a catherine wheel, and I now know that was when the car had took off. And there was a big bang.

'The bang was the car ... landing flat onto the river. I turned round to Gabby and said, "what the f*** have I done?"

'Ryan turned round and he said, "something really bad dad".'

Grady sobbed as he told jurors he never intended to hurt his children. He said: 'It wouldn't matter how depressed, how ever I felt, I would never ever harm any of my children, never. It's never entered my mind.

'I just never would do it. When my car went into the river I didn't even know the river was there. I was driving down a field, I was just driving down a field.

'I would never ever hurt any of my children deliberately.'

He added: 'It is possibly the hardest thing any father can ever have to deal with, losing their child. But to lose their child and be blamed for it is just like 100 times worse so I don't really know what kind of words can make me say how I feel about it to tell the truth.'

Asked by Mr Raggatt whether he had intended to harm Gabby, he said: 'No, the closest I got to hurting Gabby was taking head lice out of her hair.

'She was my baby and everybody knows that. I tried to save Gabby but I couldn't find her.'

The trial continues.