Nigel Malt Convicted of Killing 19-Year-Old Lauren Malt in Violent Incident Involving Family Dispute
A father who killed his daughter by twice running over her body with his car has been sentenced to life imprisonment, with a minimum term of 18 years before he can be considered for parole.
Nigel Malt, 45, deliberately reversed his vehicle over his 19-year-old daughter, Lauren Malt, on January 23 this year, in West Winch, Norfolk. After running over her, he stopped, only to drive forward again over her body. The brutal act followed an argument in which Malt threatened his daughter’s boyfriend with a crowbar.
The defendant then placed his daughter’s body in the passenger side of his car and drove to the shop where his estranged wife, Karen Malt, worked. At the time, Malt was living separately from his family and was out on bail, awaiting trial for assaults on his wife in 2021.
Karen Malt, in a tearful victim impact statement at Norwich Crown Court, recalled the moment she received the devastating news. She described the horror she felt upon seeing her daughter’s body crammed into the footwell of Malt’s car when it arrived at her workplace. “I just knew she wasn’t going to make it,” she said.
The victim’s mother expressed disbelief at how a parent could harm their own child, and reflected on her feelings of guilt and sorrow, asking, “How do you forgive?”
Lauren Malt had been living with her mother and younger siblings when the tragic event occurred outside their home. Despite being rushed to the hospital in King’s Lynn, Lauren was declared dead.
Judge Anthony Bate condemned Malt’s actions, stating that he used his vehicle as a “lethal weapon” during an alcohol-fuelled rage. He highlighted that Lauren should have been safe in her father’s presence.
Malt, who was found to have been over the legal alcohol limit, denied murdering his daughter, claiming the incident was accidental. However, following a trial, he was found guilty of her murder.
The judge sentenced Malt to life in prison, with a minimum of 18 years before he may be considered for parole.
