Girl, 16, was allegedly left to die in car back seat while men called escorts and bought beer
Megan Bannister had a high level of MDMA in her system.
A 16-year-old girl was left to die in the backseat of a car as two friends drove around calling escorts and stopping to buy beer, a court has heard.
Megan Bannister, an A-level schoolgirl, was discovered half-covered by a coat, lying in a Vauxhall Astra after the car was involved in a crash near Enderby, Leicestershire, The Telegraph reported. The teenager appeared to be lifeless and her "lips were blue," witnesses said.
Birmingham Crown Court jury heard on Wednesday (15 November) that Megan had suffered no fatal injuries during the collision.
Jason Burder and Adam King are accused of the girl's manslaughter by gross negligence. The two men, both 28, are accused of supplying Bannister with MDMA, strangling her and then neglecting her life-threatening condition on 14 May.
Burder and King plied Bannister with alcohol and ecstasy earlier that day, prosecutors claim. The Crown alleged a Snapchat video, which was possibly shot in Burder's bedroom and posted, showed the girl "out of it" and apparently "fitting".
A witness who saw the video warned them of Bannister's condition.
According to the Telegraph, jurors were told they would hear from one young girl who had previously dealt with Burder. The girl, after seeing the footage of Bannister, allegedly told Burder "you spiked her, like you spiked me".
A blood test revealed the teenage girl had "10 times the amount of MDMA" in her system than either of the suspects. Both men claimed they had taken an equal amount of drugs.
Bannister's death was either caused by "strangulation or a drug overdose," a pathologist concluded, but they were unable to decide by which mechanism.
Burder's mother reportedly saw her son and King carrying a "drunk" Bannister into the car, said Miranda Moore QC as she opened the prosecution case. The mother asked "Is everything alright?", to which Burder allegedly responded: "Yeah - I'm just taking her home."
"They weren't. They could have taken her to Leicester Royal Infirmary, they could have phoned 999, or asked Mrs Burder for her help. But they didn't," the Crown's QC said.
Instead of taking Bannister home, the men drove around for hours, phone analysis, ANPR roadside cameras and shop receipts allegedly show. With Bannister in the car, the two stopped at a shop at 8.06am to buy £15.08 of lager and cigarettes.
Beginning at 8.46am, the prosecutor said there were "calls to escorts - working girls- and websites". Bannister remained in the car until at least 10.16am, the Crown alleges.
King reportedly lost control of the vehicle and rammed into the back of a motorbike in Enderby, Leicestershire around 11.45am. The girl's body was found soon after.
The trial is ongoing.
