Man and partner, Julie Anne Skelding, spent last six years hiding in northern Cyprus after jumping bail over crash death
Wayne Smith, one of the UK's nine most wanted fugitives, was due return to Britain on Thursday night with his partner, Julie Anne Skelding.
The fugitive couple have spent the last six years hiding in northern Cyprus after jumping bail, but gave themselves up after Smith admitted their time on the run had become a "living nightmare".
Smith and Skelding were expected to land at Birmingham airport and will be remanded in custody.
"We are 95% certain they will be up in court in Birmingham [on Friday] to face fresh and new charges of failing to appear in court to answer to bail but it depends on when the court has the time available to hear their case," a spokesman for West Midlands police said.
"It will be up to the court to decide whether to bail the couple, but given their history of skipping the country, it's unlikely any request [for bail] will be granted," he said.
Smith, now 38, was involved in a car crash on the evening of 5 June 2005 that caused the death of Mohammed Idrees, aged 22.
Idrees was hit by one car as he crossed a suburban road in Birmingham before a second car, driven by Smith, crashed into him and dragged him about 350 metres before he pulled over.
Smith, from Billesley in the West Midlands, was arrested after the crash, charged and released on conditional bail but fled the country before his trial had finished. In 2006, the former account executive with a mobile phone company was convicted in his absence of causing death by dangerous driving and perverting the course of justice.
He was one of three people due to be sentenced on 7 November 2006 but fled to Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, which has no extradition treaty with the UK.
Skelding joined him soon afterwards when a jury found her guilty of perverting the course of justice by giving Smith a false alibi. The couple were named last month on the latest most-wanted list released by Crimestoppers and the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Before he and Skelding handed themselves in, Smith told Sky News: "I want to go back and face justice. It's about closure for me and closure for the family of the man who died.
"Their loss is tragic and I sympathise and I'm truly and deeply sorry. No one wants to turn back the clocks more than I do if I could."
Smith said he drove away from the crime scene because he was afraid a large group of Asian men running in his direction would attack and kill him. He fled abroad because he was suffering from stress and had received death threats which the police failed to take seriously, he added.
"This is no holiday lifestyle here," he said. "We have no money and struggle from day to day to make ends meet.
"We have been lucky to make some unbiased friends and they have supported us. No one knew our background, but obviously they do now.
"I didn't come here and change my name or my appearance. When someone has challenged me I've told the truth."
Smith has been employed as an odd-job man in northern Cyprus. Skelding, 40, worked in various bars popular with British expatriates. "It's become a living nightmare because eventually your passport runs out," said Smith. "I never wanted to escape justice, I wanted time to consider my actions because I felt I was unfairly convicted."
Smith said they were already considering returning to Britain before Crimestoppers launched the most wanted appeal.
"I was involved in a tragic accident. It was hurtful to see myself described as most wanted. I would never put myself in that category with terrorists and murderers," he said.
"What I did was wrong, I killed a man, but it wasn't intentional. I was charged with the wrong offence and I am going back to launch an appeal," he said.
Smith faces at least three years in jail for Idrees's death, and between three and 12 months for failing to surrender when on court bail. Skelding is also likely to be sent to prison. Perverting the course of justice is a common law offence with no statutory maximum sentence.
The couple told the British high commission in Cyprus three weeks ago that they wanted to surrender. He said, however, they were unable to hand themselves in immediately because Smith's passport and northern Cyprus visa had expired.
Skelding's documents were still valid but for Smith to give himself up, he had to cross the border to the Greek south, where police were waiting to arrest him on a European arrest warrant.
Smith said he feared the Turkish border guards would arrest him and jail him for document violations before he could cross to the Greek side. But the guards waved him through and he and Skelding were arrested in the south. They have been held in a police station in the capital of Nicosia.
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