Woman Jailed for Life After Killing E-Bike Rider

Published: 16 January 2026. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

A woman who hunted down and killed a young e-bike rider by deliberately using her car as a weapon has been jailed for life, with a minimum term of 35 years, in a case the court described as a chilling example of violence driven by a bitter feud and fatal misidentification. The victim, 28-year-old Joey Johnstone, was not the intended target. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and his death has left a devastated family struggling to comprehend how an evening bike ride ended in tragedy.

Zoe Treadwell, 36, was convicted of murder by a jury at Winchester Crown Court after a harrowing trial that laid bare the events of 9 April 2025 in Bournemouth, Dorset. Prosecutors told the court that Treadwell pursued Mr Johnstone in her Range Rover at extreme speeds through residential streets before striking him, causing catastrophic injuries from which he later died. Dorset Police confirmed that Mr Johnstone had been targeted in error, with investigators believing that Treadwell’s former partner, Joshua Lovell, was the intended victim amid a long-running feud.

The court heard that the pursuit was deliberate and sustained, with the vehicle driven aggressively and without regard for the safety of others. Mr Justice Linden, sentencing Treadwell, said she had shown complete indifference to whether Mr Johnstone lived or died. He told her that she had made no attempt to help him after the collision or to summon emergency assistance, behaviour that compounded the seriousness of the offence.

The murder conviction was not the only charge Treadwell faced. She was also found guilty of the attempted murder of Mr Lovell and of causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Free Jenkins in a separate incident on 1 May 2025. That second attack, the court was told, bore striking similarities to the first, involving the deliberate ramming of an e-bike during a pursuit linked to the same feud.

Jonjay Harrison, 25, was convicted alongside Treadwell for his role in the May incident. He was found guilty of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent against Mr Lovell and Mr Jenkins, and he pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place. Harrison was sentenced to 32 years in prison. During sentencing, the public gallery erupted with applause and shouts of anger, prompting warnings from court officials as emotions spilled over following weeks of distressing evidence.

In deeply moving victim impact statements, Mr Johnstone’s partner, Sophie Quinn, spoke of the irreversible loss suffered by her family. She told the court she was “heartbroken” and described how her life, and the lives of their children, changed forever on the night Joey left home and never returned. She spoke of anxiety that now dominates her daily life and the pain of knowing she will never again hear his voice or see him smile. Her words echoed through the courtroom, underscoring the human cost behind the legal arguments.

Mr Johnstone’s mother, Michelle Rush, described her son as a “beautiful man with the biggest heart”, telling the court that she had never known true love until she gave birth to him. She spoke of the devastation of losing a son who was deeply loved by his family and whose absence would be felt for generations. The judge acknowledged the profound impact on the three children left fatherless, saying no sentence could ever truly console them.

The prosecution, led by Sarah Jones KC, painted a stark picture of events. She told the jury that in the early hours of 9 April and again on the afternoon of 1 May, two “horrific collisions” took place in which cars were driven with shocking aggression into young men riding e-bikes. In both cases, she said, the victims were chased through the streets of Bournemouth before being rammed, with devastating consequences.

Ms Jones explained that data from the Range Rover showed it travelling at average speeds between 66 and 75 miles per hour as it pursued Mr Johnstone and another rider, Danny Singleton, who narrowly escaped injury. Mr Johnstone died from a traumatic head injury sustained in the collision, while victims of the May incident suffered life-changing injuries.

In that later attack, Harrison was driving a Mercedes C180 when he pursued Mr Lovell and his pillion passenger, Free Jenkins, on an electric motorcycle. The chase, the prosecutor said, was relentless, leaving the riders with no means of escape. Mr Lovell suffered multiple rib fractures, a fractured thoracic vertebra and a serious wound to his thigh and groin. Mr Jenkins’ injuries were so severe that his left leg had to be amputated above the knee.

The court heard that Treadwell and Harrison were motivated by a long-running feud involving associates of Mr Lovell, with whom Treadwell had previously been in a relationship. Ms Jones described the attacks as engineered acts of vengeance, telling jurors that the defendants had sought to “obliterate their enemies” using their cars as weapons. The fact that Mr Johnstone was not the intended target did nothing to lessen the gravity of what happened, she said.

Mr Justice Linden said that while there had been provocation in the background, including evidence that Mr Johnstone had been cycling near Treadwell’s home, this did not justify her actions. He said she had allowed anger and resentment to escalate into lethal violence. He noted evidence that Harrison had appeared to be smiling during the pursuit and that he had been paid £1,000 for his involvement, factors that highlighted the callousness of the attacks.

Defence lawyers sought to place the events in the context of the wider feud. Alisdair Williamson KC, representing Treadwell, said she had been dragged into an ongoing conflict between criminal gangs and had acted while under extreme stress. He told the court that she had been at home and felt under attack, adding that she suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and ADHD. He said she had worked previously as a healthcare assistant and in security, and had written to the court expressing sincere sorrow for what had happened.

Nicholas Hagan KC, defending Harrison, argued that his client had not set out with an intention to kill and had made a last-minute decision that led to catastrophic consequences. He said Harrison had shown genuine remorse and had become involved after believing his co-defendant was being terrorised.

The judge acknowledged the mitigation but said it could not outweigh the seriousness of the crimes. He described the use of vehicles as weapons as particularly alarming, noting the danger posed not only to the victims but to the wider public. The sentences, he said, reflected both punishment and the need to protect society.

As the court proceedings concluded, the case left a lasting impression of how quickly personal disputes can spiral into irreversible tragedy. For the family of Joey Johnstone, the verdicts bring a measure of justice but no true closure. His death, caused by a case of mistaken identity and a moment of unchecked violence, stands as a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of revenge-driven crime.

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