A career criminal who murdered an Amazon delivery driver who was trying to stop him stealing his van has been jailed for life.
Mark Ross snuck into the vehicle as Claudiu-Carol Kondor, 42, stepped away from it while carrying out his usual delivery rounds on August 20 last year.
Mr Kondor was captured on harrowing video footage hanging onto the van as Ross deliberately crashed into a stationary Mini to knock him from the vehicle.
Ross, 32, hit speeds of almost 60mph on residential streets and swerved erratically from side to side before hitting two parked cars, in an effort to get rid of the Amazon delivery driver as he clung from the open passenger door.
Determined not to let Ross steal his livelihood, Mr Kondor clung onto the vehicle for half-a-mile despite Ross’ brutal attempts to dislodge his hold. Mr Kondor died from head and chest injuries from the second crash.
Ross was jailed at Leeds Crown Court for a minimum term of 30 years after being found by a jury guilty of murder by a majority of 10 to 1 on Wednesday.
Ross had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denied murdering Mr Kondor, claiming he was unaware of him hanging onto the van and speed bumps had caused him to lose control of the vehicle.
Sentencing him today, 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.’
Footage released by West Yorkshire Police shows the moment Ross speeds through residential streets, with Mr Kondor clinging onto the passenger side door
Mark Ross, pictured, has been jailed for 30 years for murdering Amazon delivery driver Claudiu-Carol Kondor
Amazon delivery driver Claudiu-Carol Kondor, pictured, died after being flung from his van as he tried to stop it being stolen, a court heard
Mr Kondor’s devastated fiancee told the court he had dreamed of owning his own van and bought it just three weeks before he was killed.
Mariana Gheorghe described Mr Kondor as a ‘man of integrity and hard work’ and said she had been ‘forced to return to Romania with a broken heart’ after his death.
She shared details about Mr Kondor’s upbringing in her victim impact statement, revealing that he had a difficult upbringing in Romania and moved to Italy at the age of 19, doing various jobs and working as a volunteer to help earthquake victims in 2009.
Ms Gheorghe said her fiance came to England in 2019 and worked as a delivery driver and security guard, realising his dream of owning his own van in July 2024.
‘Of all his jobs he liked delivering the most. He enjoyed meeting people, delivering parcels on time and correctly,’ she said.
‘When he finished work each day he was happy to say he had done his best.’
Ms Gheorghe went on to say: ‘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.’
Mr Kondor’s family listened to the verdict via a video link to court.
Mariana Gheorghe told the court she had been ‘forced to return to Romania with a broken heart’ after the death of her fiance
This is the moment Ross calmly smokes as he is told he is being arrested on suspicion of murder
Haunting footage from the passenger side shows Mr Kondor clinging onto his van door while it is being stolen
Jurors heard Mr Kondor was delivering parcels for Amazon in the Armley area of Leeds on August 20 last year using his own silver Transit van – which was full of parcels he had collected from an Amazon depot.
While he was away from his vehicle delivering a parcel, Ross, who lived nearby and had gone out to buy cannabis, climbed into the driver’s seat and started to drive the van away, the court heard.
Mr Kondor tried to stop him by opening the front nearside passenger door of the van and attempting to climb in.
The court heard this did not stop Ross driving away, with Mr Kondor hanging onto the moving van through an open door.
Witnesses described Mr Kondor’s legs dragging on the ground as he clung onto the inside of the open door, with one woman saying she heard him shouting ‘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 side of the road, and when that did not knock Mr Kondor free from the van, he ‘tried again’.
The scene in Leeds, West Yorkshire, after Mr Kondor was found fighting for his life
Forensics officers at the scene investigating after the driver was killed
CCTV footage played in court showed Mr Kondor hanging onto the moving van through an open door as Ross drove away along Wingate Road.
‘The evidence suggests Mr Kondor tried to stop him by opening the front nearside passenger door of the van and attempting to climb in.
‘Unfortunately his actions did not prevent the defendant from driving away, with Mr Kondor hanging on to his van.’
He added: ‘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, who lived in Sheffield, was pronounced dead at the scene.
‘It appears Mr Kondor did not wish to or perhaps could not let go of his van, he did not want the defendant simply to steal it,’ Mr Harrison said.
The court heard after driving away, Ross met up with some other people and the contents of the van were removed.
Ross, of Conference Road, Armley, told the jury how he had been a daily cannabis user since he was a child and had been out buying drugs and cigarette papers when he came across the van with no driver.
Mr Kondor’s Ford Transit Cargo van (pictured) was stolen as he made a delivery on August 20 2024
He said: ‘It wasn’t ’til I got the van I saw it was unattended, and keys were in it, and the engine was running.’
Ross said: ‘I basically jumped in it and drove it off.’
His barrister Simon Kealey KC asked him if he was ‘ever aware of anyone on the passenger side of the vehicle, on the door on the outside’ to which he replied ‘no’.
Ross said he later found out about the death of Mr Kondor through the internet.
He admitted stealing vans previously, but said 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.’
But in his closing speech, Mr Harrison said ‘career criminal’ Ross must have realised Mr Kondor, who was wearing a high-viz jacket, was there, but made the choice that the driver was ‘expendable’.
He was given a concurrent sentence of six months for a separate offence of theft after stealing cashmere jumpers from a lorry.
Opening an inquest into his death last year, senior coroner Kevin McLoughlin said Mr Kondor was ‘a Romanian gentleman who was contributing to society’.
He added: ‘He was here, he was working hard, when he found someone stealing his vehicle.
‘He’s commendably tried to prevent the crime taking place but he’s paid an immensely high price for this.’
In his closing speech, Mr Harrison said Ross showed a ‘complete disregard and even contempt’ for Mr Kondor’s life
Mr Kondor was employed by a company called SP Transport Group, who described him after his death as ‘more than just a colleague – he was a friend, a confidant and a valued member of our team’.
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said Mr Kondor was ‘a decent hard-working man’ and was ‘determined not to let Ross take his livelihood’.
He continued: ‘For half a mile he bravely clung to the open door as Ross swerved the van around at speed before deliberately crashing leaving him fatally injured.
‘Claudiu came to the UK from Romania to make a better life for himself. He was described by his work colleagues as being not just a dedicated and valued member of their team but a friend and a confidant. He was also a familiar friendly face to the many people he delivered to.
‘His partner, who had also come to the UK for work, has since returned to Romania now seeing no future here. She and Claudiu’s family have been left utterly devastated by his death.
‘It is truly heart-breaking that the life of an honest hard-working man has been snatched away by the cruel and callous actions of Mark Ross.
‘Through the hard work, dedication and commitment of everyone involved, from those initial attending officers, the public providing information and CCTV, to the analytical and support staff and the detectives there throughout the investigation to its conclusion at court, we have been able to provide justice for Claudiu and his family.’
