Man given life sentence for murder of a childbirth driver

Mark Ross, 32, was found guilty on Wednesday in the murder of 42-year-old Claudiu, who was fatally injured in a crash on Heights Drive in Fernley on August 20 last year, on a majority verdict at Leeds Crown Court.

Ross stole the van, but Claudiu delivered it on Alliance Street, Armley, causing devastating injuries after he purposely crashed into a parked car and clinged to the vehicle's open passenger door as Ross speeded.

Mark Ross on the left was given a 30-year minimum life sentence for the murder of Claudio Karole Condor (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

Claudiu's death was the subject of a murder inquiry by West Yorkshire Police Murder and a detective from a major investigator. During the investigation, detectives seized and watched approximately 110 hours of CCTV footage, collected 368 exhibits and filmed 113 statements.

In a statement of victim impact to the court, Claudiu's fiance Mariana George said: Everything seems very difficult for me. I'm still shocked and confused by everything that's happened and I miss him so much.

“I lost the person who planned my whole future. The loss of Claudiu also lost his desire for work, as he loved his delivery job, his dream of getting married, his dream of buying a British house, resigning and living a quiet life.

Claudiu-Carol Condor (Image: West Yorkshire Police)

“We didn't want to go back to Romania. All our plans were based on living in England. I see myself being forced to leave England, the country where I adopted me five years ago, the country where I found love. A country that offered me a good life, a better life without worrying about tomorrow.

“Now I see myself being forced to return to Romania. With a broken heart, without cloudy, no sky hand, no plans for the future, no dreams, no desires, a new life that I have to start from scratch.

“To Cloudy, life has been beautiful since I met you, you left a huge mark in my heart and felt you next to me wherever I went. I miss you, I miss you.

“I want him (Ross) to receive the punishment he deserves, and more than that, in the current situation, the people who suffer the most will not blame his lifestyle, but these people will learn his lesson that through their lives and their suffering, they were not worthy of paying.”