The past 12 months have brought crimes which shocked and appalled Manchester Evening News readers in equal measure. Harrowing stories of murder, high level organised crime and the shaming of a teacher and police officer were among those heard in Manchester’s courts.
M.E.N. reporters are in court every day to ensure that justice is done in public. And, as have other years, 2024 has brought a number of high profile cases, many of which have grabbed headlines across the world and not just across Greater Manchester.
As another year comes to a conclusion, we look back on how the work of police and prosecutors, as well as the courage and determination of victims and witnesses, has helped justice to be done.
Here, the M.E.N. recaps some of the most high-profile prosecutions of the past year.
Police officer tried to murder his girlfriend in Manchester Premier Inn after she decided to leave him
James Riley
(Image: GMP)
It would be cowardly, despicable behaviour by anyone. But for it to have been committed by a police officer, someone who has sworn to protect and serve, made it all the more shocking.
James Riley flew into a jealous rage and tried to kill his girlfriend in a Manchester hotel room, as she shared texts with her new lover. Lancashire Police officer Riley, 28, strangled Ellie Moxham for about two minutes, before leaving her for dead in a city centre Premier Inn.
The couple had been together for a few years and bought a house in 2021, but their relationship was marred by Riley’s ‘anger, aggression and jealousy’, Manchester Crown Court heard. He had persuaded Ms Moxham, a PHD student, to attend a gig at the Apollo in Manchester and stay the night at the hotel, after drinks and food earlier in the day.
Riley hoped it would rekindle their relationship, but Ms Moxham had no intention of reconciling with him. During the night, Ms Moxham had told her new man that she loved him and wanted to be with him.
Riley fled the hotel and ran to his car after the brutal attack
(Image: GMP)
As she shared texts with her new lover when she and Riley returned to their hotel room just after 11pm, on November 10, 2022, Riley launched a brutal attack. After strangling her for about two minutes, Riley put a plastic bag over her head because he ‘could not stand to look at her’.
At 11.15pm, before calling 999, he rang his parents and told his father: “I’ve killed Ellie and I’m going to kill myself. I just wanted to say goodbye.”
His mother called the police after Riley said he’d ‘strangled’ Ms Moxham. Then only 12 minutes later he called for an ambulance, before fleeing and abandoning her.
Ms Moxham was unresponsive when paramedics arrived, and she was rushed to Manchester Royal Infirmary and placed in an induced coma. Riley later took a taxi and asked to be driven to Bradford. He was dropped off at a petrol station off the M606 motorway.
He arrived at his parents’ home at 3.45am, prosecutor Alex Leach KC told the court. His mother alerted the police that he was there, and his father locked the door.
But Riley locked himself in the bathroom and then climbed out of the window. Police caught him at 4.09am.
Ms Moxham regained consciousness the following day at 12.30pm. Riley, from Preston, eventually pleaded guilty to attempted murder. In January, he was jailed for 16 years.
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Baby faced killers jailed for murder of 14-year-old
Kyle Dermody and Trey Stewart-Gayle
(Image: GMP)
Any murder is shocking, but the ages of the deceased and the accused in this case were particularly horrifying.
Kyle Dermody and Trey Stewart-Gayle were just 14 and 13 respectively when they were involved in the murder of 14-year-old Nathaniel Shani in Harpurhey.
Dermody, now 15, knifed Nathaniel to the neck following a row over cannabis. Stewart-Gayle, now 14, was also convicted of murder. He had been armed with a screwdriver, and was found to have ‘encouraged and assisted’ Dermody.
The killers remained anonymous during reporting of the trial. But they were unmasked following their convictions, after a successful legal challenge by the Manchester Evening News.
In June, the pair were both detained at His Majesty’s Pleasure, the youth equivalent of a life sentence. Dermody will have to serve at least 13 years, while Stewart-Gayle was ordered to be detained for at least ten years.
When she sentenced them, the judge said of their victim: “That a boy of his age should have met his death by boys of a similar age is a tragedy – sadly it is no longer shocking.”
Nathaniel Shani
(Image: GMP)
The trial heard that Nathaniel died following a row over cannabis being stolen. Nathaniel and Dermody, who had previously been friends and attended Manchester Communications Academy together, had met in an alleyway off Tavistock Square on September 15 last year as part of a ‘fight to settle differences’.
There had previously been a ‘fall out’ between Dermody and Nathaniel and they had ‘engaged in physical fights’.
Nathaniel was said to have ‘viewed himself as a hard kid’ who was ‘interested in a reputation that matched that’. Prior to his death, Nathaniel had become involved in ‘street level’ drug dealing ‘through people older than him’.
Detectives told the M.E.N. that he had been exploited by a dealer, and had only been involved for about two weeks prior to his murder. Nathaniel’s family had no idea of his association with drugs, police said.
On the day of the killing, cannabis had been stolen from a friend of Nathaniel’s by Stewart-Gayle. Nathaniel was said to have viewed the incident as a ‘loss of face’ and was ‘determined’ to get the drugs back.
An arrangement was made for a ‘one v one fight’ to ‘sort things’. Nathaniel arrived in the square at about 6pm and met with the pair. Stewart-Gayle was said to have ‘tried to egg him on’. During the ensuing confrontation Nathaniel punched Dermody, who produced a knife and stabbed him to the neck. Stewart-Gayle told Dermody to ‘do it’ after he had produced the weapon.
Nathaniel was seen clutching his neck after being knifed, before collapsing in the square. He was pronounced dead at 7.08pm.
Sentencing, the judge said: “Whatever his flaws, Nathaniel did not deserve to die and not in such a violent way. He deserved the opportunity to better himself and to make a positive contribution to society. Unlike you, and by reason of your senseless behaviour he will never now be able to do so.”
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Vulnerable patient battered by hospital security staff in ‘shocking display of abuse of power’
Abdul Saleem and Darling Owa
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
A hospital is somewhere where people ought to feel safe and secure as they get treatment. But a vulnerable man was battered by security staff and left covered in bruises, in a ‘shocking display of abuse of power’.
The suicidal victim had been rushed to North Manchester General Hospital in an ambulance after taking an overdose.
After being seen in a cubicle within the hospital by medical staff, he was left alone with four security guards who had been called in because he had become ‘difficult to manage’, Manchester Crown Court heard. But over an hour period, three male security staff launched an appalling assault on him, hitting him over the head 46 times, slapping him and placing him in painful restraint positions.
Supervisor Abdul Saleem, 36, from Stretford, Trafford, and Darling Owa, 55, from Chadderton, Oldham, were hauled before a judge after their own body-worn cameras filmed the entire attack. They both pleaded guilty to assaulting the 43-year-old and have since lost their jobs at the Crumpsall hospital.
A third guard, Benjamin Monese, 39, from Farnworth, Bolton, was sentenced previously. A fourth guard present was not charged.
A judge described the episode as a ‘shocking display of abuse of power’. “He should have been safe but instead he was subjected to prolonged and persistent abuse when he was vulnerable, and supposedly in a place of safety,” Judge Kate Cornell said.
“He was not violent, and he was not particularly agitated. He didn’t need restraint.”
Lawyers for Saleem and Owa appealed for them to be spared jail. The judge said there was ‘no question’ that the custody threshold had been passed.
But she said that a custodial sentence would be a ‘disproportionate’ sentence for Saleem, and added that the loss of their jobs and good name was ‘significant punishment in itself’ for both defendants. During a hearing in March, the pair were instead both handed 18 month community orders, and ordered to complete 250 hours of unpaid work and rehabilitation activity requirement days with the probation service.
Both were also told to observe a curfew from 8pm to 6am for four months, and both must pay the victim £500 in compensation. Monese was previously sentenced to a 12 month community order by magistrates, who also ordered him to carry out 80 hours unpaid work and rehabilitation activity requirement days.
The ‘big fella’ and his fruit and veg crime gang
Clockwise: Mohammed Ovais, Paul Green, Oliver Penter, Barbara Rijnbout, Steven Martin, Johannes Vesters, Russell Leonard and Alan Cumming
(Image: National Crime Agency)
It was the biggest ever drug smuggling plot uncovered by UK police. And it took what is thought to have been the longest criminal trial in British legal history to prosecute the bosses of the ‘unprecedented’ conspiracy.
An international crime gang smuggled billions of pounds worth of drugs into the country hidden in fruit and vegetables. The massive operation saw up to £7 billion worth of cocaine, heroin and cannabis brought into the country by a highly organised and professional outfit.
Members of the gang were brought to justice for their part in the staggering crime following a trial which ran at Manchester Crown Court for almost two years. Police seized 450 kilos of heroin and cocaine and more than two tonnes of cannabis in lorries containing fruit and vegetables, with a total street value of £39.5 million.
But prosecutors said the seizures were just the tip of an ‘extremely large iceberg’. In reality the gang were responsible for at least £2 billion worth of drugs being imported, or as much as £7 billion, offering a transport service for the British criminal underworld.
Judge Paul Lawton, who sentenced the crime gang in May, said the importations were on a ‘hitherto unprecedented’ scale. “Your business model might well have been taken from Amazon,” he said.
Some of the drugs recovered
(Image: NCA)
Reporting restrictions meant the case would not be reported until December, when a linked trial, which itself lasted nine months, had concluded.
The defendants to be sentenced in May were:
Paul Green, 59, of Widnes, Cheshire was sentenced to 32 years in prison after being found guilty of three counts of conspiring to import class A drugs, and four counts of conspiring to import class B drugs.
Oliver Penter, 41, of Gladstone Street, Stockport, was sentenced to 24 years in prison after he was found guilty of one count of conspiring to import class A drugs and one count of conspiring to import class B drugs.
Steven Martin, 52, of Chorley Old Road, Bolton, and Mohammed Ovais, 46, of Bournlea Avenue, Burnage, were both found guilty of two counts of conspiring to import class A drugs and two counts of conspiring to import class B drugs.
Martin was jailed for 28 years, and Ovais for 27 years.
Iftikhar Hussain, 50, of Upland Grove, Leeds, was found guilty of assisting the activities of an organised crime group. He was jailed for four years.
Russell Leonard, 47, of Grosmont Road, Kirkby, Merseyside, was found guilty of two counts of conspiring to import class A drugs and one count of conspiring to import class B drugs. He was sentenced to 24 years.
Alan Cumming, 54, of Litherland Road, Bootle, Merseyside, was found guilty of one count of conspiring to import class A drugs, and one count of conspiring to import class B drugs. He was sentenced to 21 years in prison.
Barbara Rijnbout, 52, and Johannes Vesters, 54, both of Utrecht, in the Netherlands, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to import class A drugs and one count of conspiring to import class B drugs.
Rijnbout was sentenced to 18 years, and Vesters to 20 years.
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‘You are my role model…’ son who idolised dad followed his father to jail
Junnaid Tufail
(Image: NWROCU)
Like father, like son, the saying goes. And it was true in the case of gangster Asim Tufail, and his son Junnaid.
Junnaid followed his father into the criminal underworld, and began gun running and drug dealing with his help. Junnaid, just 19 when he became involved, said he regarded his father Asim as his ‘role model’.
Asim, 52, had spent much of his son’s childhood in jail, after previously being sentenced to 12 years for drug dealing. But after his release Asim simply carried on committing crime, adding firearms trafficking and an international money laundering operation to his underworld CV.
Asim was also called in by other criminals to assist with ‘enforcement’ in underworld disputes, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court heard. “Father and son were in it together, and were regarded as such by their customers,” prosecutor Tim Storrie KC said.
Asim Tufail
(Image: North West Regional Organised Crime Unit)
“This was organised crime at a very high level,” Judge Jonathan Seely said. “It would be an understatement to say that your father was far from the ideal role model,” the judge told Junnaid Tufail.
In April, Asim Tufail was jailed for 23 years. Tufail’s son, now 23, was sentenced to 11 years in July. The pair lived on Kenmore Road in Northenden. Asim outwardly appeared to be a ‘profitable businessman’ who enjoyed ‘the trappings of wealth’, but the true source of his wealth was revealed by law enforcement hacking of the EncroChat communications network.
Mr Storrie said the anonymous usernames they sought to hide behind on the system were of ‘significance’, with Asim known as ‘Assassin New’ and his son as ‘Baby Assassin’. Prosecutors said Asim’s reputation was ‘well established’ and ‘well known’, with his son relying on his father for ‘stock’.
In messages on EncroChat, Junnaid boasted that he had a ‘box of grenades’ for sale as well as firearms. He was also involved in cocaine dealing.
The pair were arrested at Manchester Airport on January 18, 2021, as they waited to board a flight to Dubai. When questioned, Asim denied any involvement in criminality.
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Gun plot ‘among the highest level of firearms trafficking in the UK’
Top row, left to right: Andrew Cooney, Daniel Waters, Mohammed Omar Malik and Daniel Gibbons | Bottom row, left to right: Sean Hogan, Conor Sandlan and Adrian Gonzales
(Image: GMP)
They were weapons that could do untold damage on the streets. But this gang did not care about the potential harm they were creating.
They acquired dozens of guns for sale, an astonishing tally which meant the scale of their offending was ‘among the highest level of firearms trafficking in the UK’.
Not content with the profits on offer in the trade of guns, a ledger revealed that over a five month period they had been involved with the sale of 739 kilos of cocaine with an estimated street value of £70 million.
The Manchester based organised crime group, led by Mohammed Omar Malik, were involved in the large scale supply of class A drugs, firearms and ammunition across the country.
Mohammed Omar Malik
(Image: GMP)
Mohammed Omar Malik, 33, of St Mary’s Parsonage, Manchester city centre, was found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply cocaine; conspiracy to supply MDMA; and conspiracy to supply amphetamine.
He was sentenced to 18 years for drugs offences, and 18 years for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 38 years.
Daniel Gibbons, 39, of Wordsworth Road, Reddish, Stockport, was found guilty of conspiring to possess a firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply cocaine and conspiracy to supply amphetamine. He was found not guilty of conspiring to supply MDMA.
He was sentenced to 12 years for drugs offences, and 14 years for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 28 years.
Daniel Waters, 41, of Broom Avenue, Reddish, Stockport, was found guilty of conspiring to possess firearms or ammunition with intent to endanger life.
He was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years for drugs offences, and 14 years for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 26-and-a-half years.
Sean Hogan, 40, of West Park, Denton, Tameside, was found guilty of conspiring to supply firearms and ammunition with intent to endanger life; and guilty of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and ketamine.
He was sentenced to 11 years for drugs offences, and 11 years for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 24 years.
Andrew Cooney, 39, of Oakfield Close, Alderley Edge, was found guilty of conspiring to possess firearms or ammunition with intent to endanger life and conspiracy to supply cocaine. He was found not guilty of conspiring to supply amphetamine.
He was sentenced to 12 years for drugs offences, and 13 years for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 27 years.
Conor Sandlan, 32, of Redfearn Wood, Rochdale, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess firearm or ammunition with intent to endanger life; conspiracy to supply cocaine; conspiracy to supply MDMA, and conspiracy to supply amphetamine.
He was sentenced to 14 years and three months for drugs offences, and 14 years and three months for firearms offences, to run consecutively. A two-year extension means his total term is 30-and-a-half years.
The case concluded in April with the sentencing of a seventh man, Adrian Gonzalez. Gonzalez, of City Road East, Manchester, pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess firearms with intent to endanger life, and conspiring to supply cocaine, MDMA and amphetamine. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
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The murder of Brianna Ghey
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe
(Image: PA)
It was in February that Brianna Ghey’s killers were unmasked for the first time.
After remaining anonymous in press reports of their trial, which concluded before Christmas, a judge allowed reporting restrictions to be lifted following their convictions for Brianna’s murder.
Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe were found guilty of the ‘frenzied and ferocious’ murder, after Brianna was stabbed 28 times in broad daylight in a park near Warrington in February 2023.
The 16-year-old transgender girl, who was described as ‘beautiful, witty and hilarious’ by her family, had been lured to Culcheth Linear Park by Jenkinson, who she believed was her friend. Brianna had no idea the then 15-year-old had secretly been plotting to kill her, with her friend Ratcliffe, who also 15 at the time.
Brianna Ghey
(Image: PA)
A handwritten note was discovered by police in Jenkinson’s bedroom headed: “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey.” Brianna was found dead by dog walkers in the park after 3pm that day.
Following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year, jurors found the two teenagers guilty of murder. In February, they were jailed for life.
A handwritten note was discovered by police in Jenkinson’s bedroom headed: “Saturday 11th February 2023. Victim: Brianna Ghey.” Brianna was found dead by dog walkers in the park after 3pm that day.
Following a four-week trial at Manchester Crown Court in December last year, jurors found the two teenagers guilty of murder. They have now been jailed for life.
Sentencing, Mrs Justice Yip said: “She [Brianna] had her whole life ahead of her. She had some struggles that made her vulnerable but she was supported by a loving family who wanted nothing but the best for her. Sadly no one will ever know what she would have achieved in her life. Even though her life was so short, she made an impact.”
They were both detained for life at His Majesty’s pleasure with Jenkinson ordered to serve minimum terms of 22 years, and Ratcliffe a total of 20 years in prison.
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The teacher who groomed one pupil and fell pregnant with another
Rebecca Joynes arriving at Manchester Crown Court during her trial
(Image: Steve Allen)
It was a humiliating and extraordinary fall from grace. Rebecca Joynes, once a respected high school teacher, was sent to prison for sex offences committed against children.
The 30-year-old had met her young victims whilst teaching them. They were both 15, and impressionable.
The first, Boy A, she had given nine digits of her phone number, before challenging him to guess the last two. When he did and ultimately messaged her, she responded, and her grooming behaviour commenced.
Their chats moved to Snapchat, and a trip to the Trafford Centre was planned. She picked the teenager up after school. He’d packed a bag for sleeping over and lied to his parents about where he was going. They went to Selfridges, and were captured on CCTV at the Gucci concession stand.
He picked up a black belt work £345. Smirking at him flirtatiously, she bought it, before leading him back to her luxury flat in Salford.
Rebecca Joynes smirking as her teenage victim looks at his new Gucci belt
(Image: GMP)
There they had sex twice. She told him not to tell anyone. The following morning she left him her key to lock up, before going to her parents’ house in the Wirral for the weekend.
On the following Monday morning, rumours had spread of Boy A and Miss Joynes. Sitting in her classroom, another boy, Boy B told her of what was being said, and she restored her phone to factory settings, deleting incriminating messages.
By the time she arrived home, having been suspended, the police soon came knocking. She was arrested and bailed pending further investigations.
Months went by before she began messaging Boy B. It started with flirty banter but soon culminated in her kissing him when he was just 15.
From there a sexual relationship developed, with Boy B trying to see her at ‘every chance he could get’. Though he was thrilled at this new relationship, a darker, jealous side of Joynes came to light.
She would question him on who he was with, force him to provide her with passwords to his social media accounts and argued with him constantly. At just 16, he was completely unaware of the power dynamic that was being played out.
By the end of a long 18-month hidden affair, he hoped to end it. He went round to see Joynes, but was met with rose petals, love notes and gifts dotted around her flat. The notes were clues, ultimately leading to a tiny baby grow.
“I love my daddy to the moon and back,” it read across the front of it. Joynes was pregnant with his child, despite telling him she couldn’t conceive due to health problems. The teen was left shocked and confused at the disturbing reality.
Matters were quickly reported to the police and Joynes was further arrested. A jury found Joynes guilty of six counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child. In July, she was jailed for six-and-a-half years.
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The mum grilled by a judge after her 12-year-old son hauled before court following riots
(Image: Manchester Evening News)
The riots and widespread disorder which broke out this summer shocked the country. Dozens of offenders were brought before the courts, as justice was handed down at speed.
But one case stood out among the others. A 12-year-old boy had pleaded to two counts of violent disorder, becoming among the youngest people across the country to appear in the courts in relation to the trouble.
He was seen on CCTV in Newton Heath on July 31 on a bike, where he rode in front of a bus which was forced to stop. He later kicked the bus, with the driver and the bus coming under further attack by others. He was also seen handing a rock to someone else. The boy was present and wearing a balaclava on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre on August 3, where he and others were involved in looting a Sainsbury’s store. He also joined others in kicking the front of a vape shop.
The 12-year-old, who cannot be identified due to his age, was scheduled to appear in court on September 2. But the judge, District Judge Joanne Hirst, adjourned the case after being left ‘astonished’ when his mother failed to attend court alongside her son.
She had instead left the country for a five day break to Ibiza the day before the court hearing. The mum returned to the country and accompanied her child to Manchester’s youth court nine days later.
Before the hearing began, the boy’s mum was questioned by the same judge about why she had not been present for the previous hearing. The mum said: “It wasn’t put to me how much I actually needed to be there.”
She said she had been involved in discussions with others advising her in relation to the case. The mum added: “One of them said was there an appropriate adult that can attend, which was my brother. My holiday was pre-booked, that’s why I went on holiday.”
The judge asked her: “What do you think about that decision now?” She replied: “Not very much.”
Asked whether she thought it was a ‘good decision’, the mum added: “Not really, no.” She told the judge that the holiday cost just over £1,000.
Judge Hirst ordered the mum to pay £300 to four different victims of the violent disorder, including the driver of the bus in Newton Heath, a housing officer who worked at the hotel, an asylum seeker who lived there and a Sainsbury’s employee.
Ordering a total of £1,200 in compensation to be paid, the judge told the mum: “I note that it is approximately the same price as your holiday to Ibiza.”
In September, the boy was sentenced to a 12 month intensive referral order.
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The ambulance worker who lay in wait for her boss
Stacey Smith
(Image: PA)
It was a festering and bubbling hatred that spilled out of all proportion. It ended with Stacey Smith inexplicably laying in wait outside her victim’s home, armed and ready to pounce.
Stacey Smith, 46, subjected her former boss at the North West Ambulance Service to a terrifying hammer attack. As Ms Morton left her home in Dukinfield to go to work, Smith pounced after lying in wait, and began attacking her with a hammer. She hit her on the head, arms, legs and torso. Ms Morton suffered a fractured wrist after being hit as she raised her arms to protect herself. Smith eventually dropped the hammer in the street and drove off.
Distressing CCTV footage captured audio of Ms Morton screaming in terror and begging for help. Smith was later found guilty of attempted murder.
Ms Morton began to manage Ms Smith, an ambulance care assistant, in 2017. She also managed Ms Smith’s wife, another NWAS worker.
Ms Bennett said: “On first impression, Ms Morton found Ms Smith to be a pleasant person, and even a potential friend. Their relationship deteriorated however around the time of Covid 19 and the pandemic.
“There was a need for drastic changes to the way NWAS worked. An argument ensued about shift patterns. Stacey Smith filed a formal grievance. The crux of the issue was Stacey Smith and her wife wished to work together and share non-working days.
“Allowances were made and it seemed as though the matter was at an end, but then the issue of shift patterns arose again.” Smith’s trial heard that the issue went on for ‘several months’.
In October following a trial at Manchester Crown Court, Smith was handed a 25-year extended sentence after a judge ruled she should be considered a dangerous offender amid an ongoing risk to the public.
She was handed a 20 year jail term, of which she must serve at least two-thirds before she can be considered for parole. That was in addition to an extended licence period of five years.