Young dad Joey Johnstone killed in case of mistaken identity after being ‘hunted down’ by Zoe Treadwell in a Range Rover

Two children lost their father and their mother her “soulmate” after a 28-year-old man was “hunted down” and killed by a driver “over something really, really trivial”. Joey Johnstone passed away after being knocked off his e-bike in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity.

The incident unfolded in Bournemouth, Dorset, on April 9 last year when Joey was targeted by Zoe Treadwell as part of a feud with her former partner. As 36-year-old Treadwell was jailed for 35 years, the court heard a victim impact statement from Joey’s partner - and the mother of his two children - Sophie Quinn, which described how she had been left “heartbroken” after losing her “soulmate”.

“On April 9 our lives changed for the worse, Joey innocently going out for a bike ride in the evening to never return home, my soulmate taken away from me forever,” she said. “Just to think I will never be able to hear his voice or see him, breaks my heart.”

Joey’s mother, Michelle Rush, said she “never knew what true love was until I gave birth to my perfect son” and added he had grown into a “beautiful man with the biggest heart”.

The court was told the intended victim of the incident was Treadwell’s former partner, Joshua Lovell, who she went on to target in May - and was convicted of his attempted murder, as well causing grievous bodily harm with intent against Free Jenkins in the later incident.

Jonjay Harrison, 25, was convicted of the same charges against Mr Lovell and Mr Jenkins in the May 1 attack. He also pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place. He was jailed for 32 years.

Describing the impact on Mr Johnstone’s family, Detective Inspector Mark Jenkins, of Dorset Police’s major crime investigation team, said: “Joey, he’s a father, he was only 28, so the impact on them has been profound and will be for many, many years, and they’ve been very supportive of the investigations throughout and have been present during a lot of the trial.”

He added: “Josh Lovell and Free Jenkins were part of the investigation and clearly their lives have been impacted, particularly Free Jenkins has lost a leg, that’s serious, life-changing injuries.

“So we’ve been seeking justice on their behalf as well, but primarily it’s to seek justice for Joey’s family because his children have lost their father, his partner has lost her soulmate, and it’s tragic and all over something really, really trivial that could have been avoided – he wasn’t the person that Zoe Treadwell thought she was chasing.”

The sentences were greeted with cheers and applause from people in the public gallery with one woman shouting out: “May you rot in hell Zoe, you skank.”

Sentencing Treadwell, the Judge, Mr Justice Linden, said the incident happened after Mr Johnstone had been “goading” her by “cycling in circles” outside her house and she had used the car as a “weapon”.

“He was much-loved by his family, his death has had a devastating effect on them and the three children who have been left fatherless,” the judge said. “You have caused serious and lasting harm to them, no sentence this court can pass can console them for their loss.”

He added: “You were totally indifferent as to whether Joey Johnstone lived or died, you made no attempt to assist him or summon assistance for him.”

He said Harrison had been described as “smiling and smiling” during the pursuit and had been paid £1,000 for his involvement.

Alisdair Williamson KC, defending, said that the incidents resulted from an “ongoing feud between two criminal gangs” which Treadwell had been “dragged into”, and added: “This was a woman in her own home who was under attack.”

He said Treadwell, a former healthcare assistant and security worker, had been suffering from PTSD, depression and anxiety and had also been diagnosed with ADHD and had written to the court to express her “sincere sorrow for all that has happened”.

Nicholas Hagan KC, defending Harrison, said that he had made a “last-minute” decision to collide with the e-bike and had not set out that evening with an intention to kill and he had “genuine remorse” for the injuries he caused.

He said that the defendant had become involved in the feud after hearing about his co-defendant being “terrorised by a gang of others”.

But Sarah Jones KC, prosecuting, told the trial: “In the early hours of April 9 this year and in the afternoon of May 1, there occurred two horrific collisions, in each instance a car was driven deliberately and with shocking aggression into young men who were riding e-bikes.

“The men have been pursued by the vehicle, chased around the streets of Bournemouth and then rammed by the vehicle. The consequences were, unsurprisingly, extremely severe.”

She said the Range Rover travelled at speeds averaging between 66mph and 75mph in pursuit of e-bikes ridden “flat out” by Mr Johnstone and another man, Danny Singleton, who was not injured.

Ms Jones said Mr Johnstone died of a “traumatic head injury” in the April collision and the two victims of the May incident suffered a range of serious injuries. She said that there had been a feud between Treadwell and the associates of Mr Lovell, with whom she had previously been in a relationship.

Ms Jones said: “Both collisions were engineered as a consequence of a long-running grudge or feud, call it what you will.” She added: “They have sought to obliterate their enemies and the weapons with which they chose to do that were their cars.”