Bethany Donohoe and Faye Gowdy: Birmingham mother and Andrew Flemson’s girlfriend Ashley Donald jailed for helping escape to Ireland

Bethany Donohoe (24), of Albany Road, Coventry, and Faye Gowdy (44), of Carpenter Road, Birmingham, provided the cash and bought the tickets while Ashley Donald tried to evade justice.

Donald was jailed for life for murder in June last year, while three passengers were also convicted of manslaughter. It came after Andrew Flamson was hit by a car following an argument over a drugs debt on Grosvenor Road in Coventry in 2022.

Mr Flamson died in hospital from head injuries three days after he was knocked down by Donald on July 12.

His dog, which was dragged under the vehicle during the accident, was put down several days later.

According to West Midlands Police, Donald contacted both his girlfriend and his mother within hours of killing Mr Flamson on July 12.

Gowdy wired the money to Donohoe, who then bought two ferry tickets to Ireland.

On July 19, police arrested Gowdy at his home in Edgbaston and the same day they arrested Donohoe, who landed in the UK at Birmingham Airport.

Proceedings were also launched to extradite Donald from Ireland, but he returned to the UK in September and handed himself in at Coventry Police Station.

Following a trial in May last year, Donald was sentenced to life in prison for Mr Flamson’s murder.

Three other men who were in the car at the time were convicted of murder and each received sentences of 12 to 15 years in prison.

The hearing heard that the men, armed with a baseball bat and a wooden stick, went out to confront Mr Flamson after an argument over a debt of around £400.

Following a trial, Gowdy and Donohoe were convicted of assisting an offender on Monday. They will be sentenced at Warwick Crown Court on August 12.

Speaking after the hearing, Inspector Tom Lyons said: “This was a horrific case of a car being used as a weapon with devastating consequences. Anyone who assisted the perpetrator in doing so as he attempted to evade justice is completely unacceptable.

“And we did not shy away from bringing to justice both women who attempted to do this.”

Coventry Live reported that earlier this year Andrew Flamson’s distraught sister made a special plea for help for her brother, who was killed by a gang in a “debt vendetta”.

She asked anyone going to music events or raves to “say hello” to her brother, who she said was a keen party animal and loved “a good dance, music was his life”.