A man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of an Amazon delivery driver who attempted to stop him from stealing his delivery van. Claudiu Carol Kondor, 42, was killed last year in Leeds after Mark Ross, 32, a known offender, climbed into his van and drove off, a court heard.
Determined to keep his livelihood, Mr. Kondor clung to the vehicle for approximately half a mile as Ross drove at speeds up to 60 mph, swerving in an attempt to dislodge him. The vehicle then crashed into two parked cars. Mr. Kondor sustained fatal head and chest injuries in the second collision, the court heard.
On Friday, Ross received a life sentence at Leeds Crown Court, with a minimum term of 30 years. Mr. Kondor’s devastated fiancée shared that he had long dreamed of owning his own van, purchasing it only three weeks before his death.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, Ms. Mariana Gheorghe, who was forced to return to Romania after the tragedy, described Mr. Kondor as a “man of integrity and hard work.” She recounted his difficult upbringing in Romania and his move to Italy at 19. There, he held various jobs and volunteered to assist earthquake victims in 2009.
Ms. Gheorghe explained that Mr. Kondor came to England in 2019, working as a delivery driver and security guard. He realized his ambition of owning his own van in July 2024. She stated, “Of all his jobs he liked delivering the most. He enjoyed meeting people, delivering parcels on time and correctly.”
Her statement continued, “I don’t know how I will live without him, everything seems so difficult to me. I’m still shocked and confused about everything that happened. Both me and Claudiu were the kind of people who like to work, who built a life on dreams and honest work on their own.”
Ross had pleaded guilty to manslaughter but denied murdering Mr. Kondor, claiming he was unaware of him hanging onto the van and that speed bumps had caused him to lose control.
A jury of 11 found him guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to one on Wednesday. Sentencing on Friday, Judge Mr. Justice Goss said: “Claudiu Carol Kondor must have been terrified in the last 45 seconds of his life as you ignored his pleas to stop and drove faster, dragging him along the road, causing him mental and physical suffering.”
Jurors were told that Mr. Kondor was delivering parcels for Amazon in the Armley area of Leeds on August 20 last year, using his own silver Transit van. While he was away delivering a parcel, Ross, who lived nearby and had gone to buy cannabis, entered the driver’s seat and tried to drive the van away, the court heard.
Mr. Kondor attempted to stop him by opening the front passenger door and trying to climb in. Ross continued to drive, with Mr. Kondor clinging to the moving van. Witnesses described Mr. Kondor’s legs dragging on the ground as he held onto the open door, with one woman stating she heard him shout for help.
Prosecutor John Harrison KC told jurors, “After speeding and swerving failed to get rid of Mr. Kondor, the defendant deliberately drove into collision with two parked cars.” He said Ross turned the steering wheel towards a black car parked on the road, and when that did not dislodge Mr. Kondor, he “tried again.”
“The second collision was with a blue car which caused damage to the van, to the parked car and most significantly, caused fatal head and chest injuries to Mr. Kondor,” Mr. Harrison said.
Mr. Kondor, a resident of Sheffield, was pronounced dead at the scene. The court heard that after driving away, Ross met with others, and the contents of the van were removed.
In his closing speech, Mr. Harrison argued that Ross, as a “career criminal”, must have known Mr. Kondor was there, wearing a high-visibility jacket, but made the choice the driver was “expendable.” Ross, of Conference Road, Armley, told the jury he had been involved in stealing vans before, but described he had “never been involved in anything like this before,” adding, “I would have stopped the van and run off if I had known he was there.”
He received a concurrent six-month sentence for stealing cashmere jumpers from a lorry.
