A dad who reversed over his daughter had been a "complete idiot" but hit her accidentally after being obsessed in trying to get to his daughter's boyfriend.
Nigel Malt, 44, of Lynn Road, King's Lynn, has gone on trial at Norwich Crown Court having denied the murder of his daughter Lauren Malt.
The 19-year-old was pronounced dead on January 23 this year, after being run over by Malt's car in Leete Way, West Winch shortly before 7.30pm.
Allison Summers QC, defending Malt, told jurors in her closing address that "a young woman died quite needlessly and in the most awful circumstances".
She accepted her client was behind the wheel of a car while drunk and still with some cocaine in his system.
But Miss Summers said Malt had wanted "to continue his altercation with Arthur Marnell".
"A man so obsessed with Arthur Marnell that even after the collision when he got out of the car the first thing he said was "where's Arthur?".
The barrister said that if it had been a deliberate act Malt would have known "who he had just hit".
"There would be no surprise, no reason for him to say "my daughter, that's my bloody daughter".
"We say the reason he said these words as he got out of the car wound up and angry, as he was expecting to see a bin, not his daughter."
She said the prosecution must prove that "he knew where she was and knowing where she was, deliberately drove into her".
A police officer, who had been a prosecution witness, said it was "plausible" Malt might not have seen his daughter and that it was an accident.
Miss Summers suggested if Malt's "intention was to kill or seriously injure Lauren why, having achieved that, did he then take her to her mum and then onto the hospital?" adding it "just doesn't make sense".
While accepting Malt had been drinking and "had behaved like a complete idiot" with the accident coming out of quite culpable behaviour, she insisted "it's not murder".
Although Malt had not given evidence Miss Summers reminded jurors "we don't bear the burden of proving his innocence".
In interviews she said Malt clearly told police "I didn't see her" and "I thought I had hit a wheelie bin".
Miss Summers said the incident had been about Arthur Marnell with Malt's anger directed towards him and not his daughter.
She said: "There was never any intention to hurt her let alone seriously hurt her or kill her and for this reason we invite you to return verdicts of not guilty."
The trial continues.
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