A COURT has heard of the aftermath when an “ungrateful son” allegedly tried to kill his parents for a £230,000 inheritance by driving them into a canal.
Prosecutors claim Stephen Seddon, 46, staged the accident by driving into a Manchester canal with his father Robert Seddon, 68, mother Patricia, 65, and nephew Daniel, 27, all in the BMW car.
The court heard the father of three from Seaham, County Durham, had an “insatiable thirst” for his parents’ money, was the sole beneficiary of their £230,000 estate and stood to get the lot in their will.
Seddon played the hero after his parents survived the alleged canal murder plot, so he later carried out the double-killing, Manchester Crown Court heard.
The elderly, quiet and unassuming couple were found blasted at close range with a sawn-off shotgun at the family’s suburban home in Sale, Greater Manchester, on July 4 last year.
Four months earlier on March 20, Seddon is alleged to have made the first unsuccessful attempt to get his hands on their money by staging the canal crash.
He told police later a brick in the road may have caused him to swerve into the water.
Prosecutors claim Seddon hired a BMW and drove from his home in the North East on the pretext of taking his parents and nephew, who has learning difficulties, out for a belated Mother’s Day meal.
Elliot Fox lived in the Bridge Apartments overlooking the canal and from his balcony could see the BMW’s lights on under the water.
Mr Fox told the jury he dashed to the scene and saw Seddon in the water trying to break the windows of the car.
The defendant then climbed up on top of the vehicle to kick back against the windows with his heels.
“At this point I had to shout for him to get off the car, as it was making it sink,” Mr Fox said. “I repeated it and he got off the car.”
Daniel Seddon had got out of the car through the front passenger window and reached the far canal side, Mr Seddon senior had managed to get out of one back window with the help of his son, but Patricia Seddon was still in the car.
A fireman showed “huge heroism”, the court heard, by jumping into the murky waters of the Bridgewater Canal and swam with an axe to break the back window of the vehicle.
Seddon denies two counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. The trial was adjourned until Monday.
