'Career criminal' who murdered Amazon driver while attempting to steal his van is jailed for at least 30 years

A "career criminal" who murdered an Amazon delivery driver during an attempt to steal his van has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 30 years.

Mark Ross had climbed into Claudiu-Carol Kondor's vehicle and started to drive away while the victim was out delivering a parcel in Armley, Leeds, on 20 August last year.

Mr Kondor, 42, held on to the vehicle from the open passenger door for half a mile as Ross drove down residential streets at speeds of almost 60mph, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Ross later swerved erratically from side to side before deliberately hitting two parked cars on Heights Drive in Farnley.

Mr Kondor, who was heard shouting for help as he held on to the moving van, died from head and chest injuries from the second crash when the vehicle struck a blue Mini, the court heard.

Ross had pleaded guilty to manslaughter, but denied murdering Mr Kondor, claiming he was unaware of him hanging on to the van and that speed bumps had caused him to lose control of the vehicle.

He was found guilty of murder at Leeds Crown Court on Wednesday.

Sentencing Ross on Friday, 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."

On the day of his death, Mr Kondor was delivering parcels using his own silver Transit van that 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, his trial heard.

Mr Kondor attempted to stop him by opening the front nearside passenger door of the van and attempting to climb in.

However, this did not stop Ross driving away, with Mr Kondor hanging on to the moving van through an open door.

Ross 'tried again' after first crash

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 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 and was originally from Romania, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ross later met up with some people and the contents of the van were removed, the court heard.

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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".

Ross, of Conference Road, Armley, told the jury he had been involved in 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."

He was given a concurrent sentence of six months for a separate offence of theft after stealing cashmere jumpers from a lorry.

Heartbroken partner pays tribute

Mr Kondor's fiancee, Mariana Gheorghe, said in a victim impact statement that the Amazon driver had dreamed of owning his own van and bought it just three weeks before he was killed.

She added that she had been "forced to return to Romania with a broken heart" after his death and described Mr Kondor as a "man of integrity and hard work".

Ms Gheorghe said 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.

She said Mr Kondor came to England in 2019 and worked as a delivery driver and security guard.

She added: "Of all his jobs he liked delivering the most. He enjoyed meeting people, delivering parcels on time and correctly.

"When he finished work each day he was happy to say he had done his best."

Detective Chief Inspector James Entwistle said: "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."

(c) Sky News 2025: 'Career criminal' who murdered Amazon driver while attempting to steal his van is jailed fo