A Taranaki woman was tonight found guilty of murdering her ex-partner by crashing her car into another vehicle while he clung to the bonnet.
Cindy Fairburn had suspected Darin Paul Maxwell of molesting their two-year-old daughter but an examination of the toddler found no sign of sex abuse.
After a two-week trial in the High Court in New Plymouth, a jury tonight returned a guilty verdict against 38-year-old Fairburn.
The prosecution said that Mr Maxwell had clung to the bonnet of Fairburn's car while she drove 13km along State Highway 3 from Inglewood towards New Plymouth on August 6 2007.
She had then deliberately driven her car into the path of a 4WD flinging Mr Maxwell from the bonnet through the windscreen of the other vehicle.
He died from his extensive injuries.
The 4WD driver also suffered life-threatening injuries but survived after weeks in hospital.
Fairburn spent 15 weeks in hospital, and then caught an infection which resulted in one of her legs being amputated.
Fairburn's lawyers argued that her actions on the night were solely those of a woman defending herself from Mr Maxwell.
But Crown prosecutor Cherie Clarke said Fairburn had been angry and upset since coming to the belief Mr Maxwell had sexually abused their daughter.
She reported the incident to police, but when told that Mr Maxwell would not be arrested immediately, she was angered, saying he should not be allowed to get away with it.
Miss Clarke said the daughter was examined by a paediatrician who found no evidence of a sexual assault and ESR tests weeks later found no evidence of semen on the girl's bedding.
