Andrew Bardsley

A jury found Terrence King guilty of murdering 15-year-old Devon Simmonds-Caines after deliberately driving into him at high speed in Middleton. Prosecutors argued that King acted in anger after seeing the teenager on a stolen e-bike and made no attempt to brake before the fatal collision. The defence claim that King only intended to block the bike was rejected. Statements from the Crown Prosecution Service and police condemned King’s actions and highlighted the impact on the victim’s family.

A drunk man, Kristen Naylor, received a suspended 12‑month sentence and a three‑month alcohol ban after assaulting his father, injuring a dog during the attack, and later throwing a Pot Noodle and flapjack at a police officer’s genitals while in custody. The court heard that Naylor repeatedly punched his father and threatened him before police intervened. Additional penalties include unpaid work, rehabilitation days, alcohol monitoring and mental health treatment, along with prosecution costs.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad were cleared of assaulting Greater Manchester Police officer Zachary Marsden at Manchester Airport after a second jury failed to reach verdicts and prosecutors declined to seek a third trial. The court recorded not-guilty verdicts after the Crown Prosecution Service concluded that the case, while serious, did not meet the legal threshold for an exceptional third prosecution. Amaaz was separately convicted of assaulting two other officers and a member of the public and remains in custody pending sentencing on 26 June. Video footage showed Amaaz being kicked in the head by PC Marsden after being Tasered; Marsden may still face criminal or disciplinary proceedings.

A Liverpool Crown Court jury was shown CCTV footage allegedly showing 21-year-old Mohammed Fahir Amaaz headbutting and punching Abdulkareem Ismaeil at a Starbucks in Manchester Airport on July 23, 2024. Witness Cameron Cartledge said Amaaz appeared to be the aggressor and that he saw no violence from Ismaeil. Prosecutors also allege that Amaaz and his brother, 26-year-old Muhammad Amaad, later confronted police at a terminal pay station, where PC Zachary Marsden was allegedly assaulted. Amaaz had previously been convicted of assaulting Ismaeil and two female officers; both brothers deny the charge involving Marsden, and the trial is continuing.

Two teenagers, identified in court as Boy A, 16, and Boy B, 15, were found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Mohanad Goobe in Moss Side, Manchester, on September 15, 2025. A third teenager, Boy C, 14, was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter. The violence followed an earlier fight linked to a TikTok video, with the groups organizing a rematch through Snapchat and allegedly obtaining knives. CCTV showed Goobe being attacked, kicked and stabbed in the chest. The defendants are due to be sentenced on May 21.

Edwin Morrison, an 81-year-old retired pharmacy courier with terminal cancer, pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to attempting to rob a 95-year-old woman in her Salford home on January 27. He allegedly strangled her, demanded money and restrained her with cable ties before her mobile hairdresser arrived and interrupted the attack. Prosecutors said Morrison had targeted the woman after delivering medication in his former job and had sought money to pay for his funeral after an unsuccessful GoFundMe campaign. His defence cited depression, deteriorating health, gambling and concern about burdening his family. The victim described lasting fear, nightmares and a loss of security in her home. Sentencing was adjourned until April 15 pending a pre-sentence report and further medical evidence.

Martin Davies, 36, was unanimously convicted of manslaughter but acquitted of murder after fatally stabbing 28-year-old Kailem Reece Gibson at a flat in Newton Heath, north Manchester, on 29 August 2025. The court heard that Davies had arranged for Gibson and his girlfriend to live there while selling Spice and handing over benefits, creating tensions after they challenged the arrangement. Gibson suffered 15 stab wounds or slashes and died in hospital the following day. Davies claimed self-defence, but prosecutors argued he was the dominant figure in the household and had repeatedly attacked Gibson. He was also cleared of assault charges and possessing an offensive weapon, and is due to be sentenced next month.

Josh Baxter told Minshull Street Crown Court that Michael Barron turned purple and stopped breathing after the pair met through Grindr for a sexual encounter in January 2025. Baxter said choking was intermittent and consensual role play, that Barron showed no distress, and that he called emergency services and performed CPR after discovering him unresponsive. Prosecutors allege Baxter pursued high-risk sexual activity and strangled Barron with enough force to cause serious injuries, while Baxter denies manslaughter. The court also heard that Baxter later searched online about whether accidentally strangling someone during sex could result in imprisonment.

Video footage appears to show a grey BMW estate being driven erratically and against traffic on Deansgate in Manchester around 5am on December 14, including allegedly aiming toward pedestrians, running a red light and crashing into fencing. Bystanders voiced fears that someone would be killed, while several men tried to open the vehicle door. A 25-year-old man was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Greater Manchester Police said no arrests had been made and appealed for information.

Manzorr Hussain and his cousin Imtiaz Ali were convicted after a four-week trial of grooming and sexually abusing five vulnerable girls aged 13 to 16 in Bury and elsewhere between 1996 and 2000. Prosecutors said the men used alcohol, drugs, lifts and promises of companionship to manipulate the victims, who were abused in homes, vehicles, a hotel and other locations. Hussain was convicted of seven rapes and seven indecent assaults, while Ali was convicted of five rapes, five indecent assaults and attempted indecent assault. Hussain’s brother Ghulam Hussain, alleged to have played a central role, was charged but has left the country. The convicted men will be sentenced in December, while police praised the victims for helping secure long-awaited justice.

CCTV footage showed convicted murderer Direece Roche stalking streets and climbing through gardens before breaking into the Fallowfield home of his great-uncle, 64-year-old Fintan McDwyer, in June 2024. Roche stabbed McDwyer 77 times and escaped over fences; investigators later linked him to the crime through blood on a fence and DNA on a torch. Roche, who had previously been convicted of murdering Adam Steele as a teenager, claimed McDwyer had abused him, but a jury rejected the account. He was sentenced to a whole-life order, with the judge describing the attack as premeditated and saying Roche showed no remorse.

Wembadive Onokoko, 21, was stopped at Manchester Airport after arriving from Thailand via Doha while attempting to pass through the nothing-to-declare lane. Border Force officers found 15 kilograms of cannabis in 25 vacuum-sealed packages inside his suitcase. He pleaded guilty to importing a Class B drug, saying he had been motivated by financial pressure and offered £1,500. Manchester Crown Court sentenced him to 20 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and rehabilitation requirements, taking into account his age, remorse, work record and time spent on remand.

Registered childminder Andrea Ward admitted three charges of child neglect after leaving infants unattended at her home in Tottington, Bury, including a crying baby strapped into a car seat for about 25 minutes while she went out with other children. Parents described feeling betrayed and said their children had been traumatised. At Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court, Ward received a 12-month prison sentence suspended for 24 months, was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 in prosecution costs.

Alicia Fairclough was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of causing the death of her partner, Thomas Benson, after driving his Audi A8 into a tree in Horwich at approximately twice the 30mph speed limit following a wedding where she had been drinking. Their eight-year-old daughter was in the car. Fairclough claimed Benson was drunk and had interfered with the steering wheel, but prosecutors argued that she was driving far too fast. She was granted bail before sentencing in January and faces a possible custodial sentence. Benson, who owned the Crux Emporium and White Tiger bars, was remembered by his family, friends and the local community as a loving father and generous, supportive businessman.

Mihai Jean-Marinel was sentenced to 10 years in prison after admitting that he trafficked a vulnerable Romanian woman to the UK, forced her into prostitution in Manchester, took her earnings and subjected her to violence and coercive control. The woman reportedly had sex with up to 10 men a day over 15 months, generating at least £100,000 for him. His former girlfriend, Florentina Doina Urmuz, received a six-year sentence for helping kidnap the woman after she sought assistance from a charity, in an attempt to return her to exploitation.

Zikel Bobmanuel was fatally shot outside his mother Justina’s home in Openshaw, Manchester, after a dispute over the cleaning and payment of five pairs of trainers. His half-brother Rumaal Ingram accompanied trainer cleaner Emmanuel Onasanya to a meeting with Zikel and fired a warning shot into the ground; the bullet fragmented and killed Zikel. Ingram claimed he intended only to frighten Zikel and was acquitted of murder but convicted of manslaughter, receiving a life sentence with a minimum term of 16 years. Onasanya, who prosecutors said had enlisted Ingram’s help, was acquitted of both murder and manslaughter.

Scarlett Jenkinson and Eddie Ratcliffe, both 16, were publicly named after a judge lifted reporting restrictions following their convictions for murdering 16-year-old transgender girl Brianna Ghey. They received life detention sentences with minimum terms of 22 years for Jenkinson and 20 years for Ratcliffe. The court heard that the pair planned the killing, lured Brianna to a park in Culcheth near Warrington, and stabbed her 28 times. The judge described the murder as exceptionally brutal and sadistic, finding that hostility toward Brianna’s transgender identity was a secondary motive. Brianna’s family said the loss was devastating and that the killers remained a danger to society, while police praised the family’s courage and dignity.

A judge ruled that the two teenagers convicted of murdering 16-year-old Brianna Ghey will be publicly named on February 2, 2024, when they are sentenced. Mrs Justice Yip said there was no good reason to maintain the anonymity orders after conviction and that delaying identification until the defendants turn 18 would unduly restrict press freedom. The court heard that the murder involved significant planning, including a handwritten note outlining the attack. Defence lawyers raised concerns about the teenagers' welfare and threats to their families, while Brianna's family supported lifting the restrictions. Further medical reports were requested before sentencing.

Influencer Holly Snelgar pleaded guilty after her English pit bull, Kaiser, attacked Airbnb neighbours Jennie Lawrenson and Myles Waldron during a December 2021 party in Manchester. Lawrenson suffered multiple bites, was hospitalised for three days and was left with scars, while Snelgar also kicked an emergency worker during the police response. The court heard that Snelgar was intoxicated, laughed during the attack and said the dog was defending her. She received a two-year community order, 125 hours of unpaid work, rehabilitation requirements and compensation payments; the dog was spared destruction subject to training and lead restrictions.

Six-year-old Kidus Wondwosen was killed in Hulme in August 2020 after being struck by a car driven by Jenefer Ebosele. A fact-finding jury at Minshull Street Crown Court concluded by majority that Ebosele had caused his death by driving without due care and attention, accepting the prosecution’s argument that she had failed to concentrate. Collision experts disagreed over whether the crash could have been avoided. Ebosele was found unfit to stand trial because of mental health problems and received an absolute discharge, meaning she has no conviction and cannot be disqualified from driving. Kidus’s family described their enduring grief, while the judge acknowledged the devastating loss but said an absolute discharge was the most suitable outcome given Ebosele’s circumstances and treatment.

Emma Berry, 36, was sentenced to eight months in prison after pleading guilty to eight thefts and threatening behaviour linked to repeated shoplifting at a Boots store in Ashton-under-Lyne. She stole roughly £600 of cosmetics and toiletries between December 2022 and February 2023 and threatened a worker who confronted her. The judge said Berry, who was described as being addicted to crack cocaine, had repeatedly been given opportunities to rehabilitate and had breached a suspended sentence for a 2021 robbery. She was also given a three-year criminal behaviour order banning her from every Boots store in the UK and is expected to serve half of her sentence in custody.

Kevin Mannion was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of murdering 22-year-old Elinor O'Brien, wounding her with intent and coercive or controlling behaviour. The trial heard that he repeatedly assaulted O'Brien during their eight-month relationship and fatally stabbed her in the groin at his Manchester apartment after an argument about other women. O'Brien had concealed the abuse and declined to identify Mannion to police or medical staff because she feared him. Mannion denied knowing how she was injured, but the jury rejected his account. He was due to be sentenced to life imprisonment, with the minimum term to be determined, on 9 March.

Passengers returning to Manchester from Portugal on a TUI flight were told their checked luggage could take seven to ten days to reach them, despite the bags already being at the airport. The Bladen-Kay family was left without essential medication and work shoes, while TUI attributed the disruption to staffing problems at Manchester Airport and said it was working with baggage handlers. Swissport acknowledged ongoing recruitment and security-clearance challenges, said its staff were working to clear the backlog, and advised travellers to keep essential medicines in carry-on luggage.

Dr Isyaka Mamman was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty to gross negligence manslaughter over the 2018 death of Shahida Parveen at Royal Oldham Hospital. After failing to obtain a bone marrow sample from her hip, he performed a rare sternal biopsy despite objections, using the wrong needle and puncturing the sac around her heart, causing fatal internal bleeding. The sentencing judge said Mamman bore the main responsibility but criticized Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust for failing to respond adequately to his falsified age, previous misconduct and earlier biopsy-related incidents, including one that left another patient permanently disabled.

Carl Jones, a 33-year-old businessman from Tameside who ran a yoga studio, was involved in a gym and had invested in a cafe, was sentenced to six years in prison at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to conspiring to supply 19 kilos of ketamine and 10 kilos of cocaine. The court heard that pandemic-related business losses and debt contributed to his decision to act as a broker in a drug-supply network, using the EncroChat platform and employing a driver to move drugs and cash. Prosecutors said the evidence showed regular discussions about substantial quantities of drugs, while the defense emphasized his previously positive character and claimed he received about £5,000. The judge concluded that greed, rather than financial necessity alone, ultimately drove his involvement.

Kelly Brown condemned Marquis Richards after alleging that he made a cutthroat gesture and referred to her 16-year-old son Rhamero West as “smoked” during court proceedings. West was chased and stabbed in Old Trafford in September 2021. Ryan Cashin and Giovanni Lawrence were sentenced to life imprisonment with minimum terms of 24 and 21 years, while Richards received a youth life sentence with a minimum term of 18 years. All three were convicted of murder, and Greater Manchester Police said their lack of remorse deepened the family's suffering.