A Liverpool hospital worker who sold stories to a tabloid newspaper about notorious patients has been jailed.

Robert Neave, 62, had worked at Broadmoor psychiatric hospital in Berkshire since 1980 and was well aware of his duty of confidentiality.

But in September 2007, the healthcare nursing assistant contacted The Sun and offered information about Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, as well as Rachel Nickell’s killer Robert Napper.

Over the next two-and-a-quarter years, Neave, of Markfield Crescent, Woolton, passed on 14 tips to the newspaper and was paid a total of £7,125.

In November 2013, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office, and he appeared before the Old Bailey on Thursday to be sentenced.

Jailing him, Judge Richard Marks QC said: “On any view of the matter, not least given you at the time had not one but two paymasters, this represented a gross breach of trust.

“For reasons which were explained in the trial of a number of your co-accused journalists, I am satisfied that articles of the sort generated as a consequence of the information you provided are significantly detrimental to the patients’ well-being.

“They caused mistrust and suspicion as well as potentially impacting on security. Your duty of confidentiality was something you were well aware of. Accordingly it is difficult to see there can be any excuse at all for what you did. It does appear you must have been motivated by money.”

The Common Serjeant of London took into account Neave’s guilty plea and the long delay in sentencing as well as the fact that Neave is the sole carer for his elderly father.

But he added: “I regret to say that in my judgment the scope and scale of your offending was such that an immediate custodial sentence is inevitable, however I have reduced it significantly.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The killer of Speke teenager Kelsey Shaw denied locking his victim in the house and strangling her in a fit of temper.

Callum Wilcocks, now 23, killed his on-off girlfriend after a row about them seeing other people on April 29, 2011, at a flat in Foundry Lane, Widne .

Wilcocks, of Hale Drive, Widnes, admits causing Kelsey’s death but claims a combination of a personality disorder and a loss of self control means he is only guilty of manslaughter.

He told Liverpool Crown Court that Kelsey, 17, claimed their three-year-old daughter was not his child and had taunted him over his sexual performance in the moments before he killed her.

But Simon Medland, QC, prosecuting, accused Wilcocks of losing his temper because Kelsey said he was an “alcoholic” and locking the slim, lightly built teenager inside the flat to prevent her escape.

The court heard they initially had an argument after Kelsey became angry with Wilcocks for failing to call them a taxi.

Wilcocks said she called him “an alcoholic” and “f****** useless”, prompting him to grab her neck to “make her be quiet.”

He said he let go, but another row ensued in which she made the comments about their daughter and said that she wished he had “killed himself.”

But Mr Medland said: “The reason why Kelsey was behind the locked front door of that flat, one reason and one reason only, she was trying to get away from you. You came up from behind, she had no opportunity to get away, and you levered your arm around her neck and you murdered her?”

Wilcocks replied: “That is totally incorrect.”

Kelsey Shaw from Speke

The court had earlier heard that the pair had been drinking and snorting cocaine with Kelsey’s friend Rebecca McDonald, at Miss McDonald’s flat.

The attack occurred while Miss McDonald was out of the flat, on the way back from dropping her baby son off at her mother’s house.

Wilcocks claimed he attacked Kelsey after a phone call from Miss McDonald saying she had returned and was outside.

Giving evidence earlier in the trial, Miss McDonald told the jury she has tried to get inside but found the door locked, and said she could hear “heavy breathing” from behind the door.

Wilcocks claimed this was the sound of him desperately trying to perform CPR on the victim.

Mr Medland said: “At what point in this sequence, if she was already dead, at what point do you say you had killed her?”

Wilcocks replied: “In between the time from Beccy coming from the top of the street to the front door.”

Mr Medland suggested that Wilcocks had killed Kelsey before then, and was lying about her provocative remarks.

He said: “She was very short, very light. She was no physical threat to you was she?”

Wilcocks replied: “She has assaulted me, anyone can be a physical threat to anybody.”

The court is set to hear expert medical evidence on Wilcocks’ mental state this afternoon.

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A second man has been charged with the murder of Garston teenager Vinny Waddington.

Luke Kendrick, 25, of Wharfdale Road, Garston, has also been charged with attempted wounding with intent.

He will appear before Liverpool and Knowsley Magistrates Court tomorrow, Friday November 27.

Ryan Bate, 23, had previously been charged with the murder of the Garston teen, and appeared before Liverpool magistrates on Monday November 16.

Bate was also charged with attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to a man called Francis Humphries.

Vinny, 18, was riding a scrambler bike when he was shot dead by a man in an Audi at 9pm on Tuesday, July 14.

The scrambler bike was being driven by Mr Humphries.

Police said at the time the shooting was targeted but Vinny’s family said he was not a gang member.

In a statement following his death his family said: “He was a normal 18-year-old young intelligent lad from the inner city who any working class family would relate to.

“This handsome boy meant the world to his dad along with his sister, brother, grandparents and entire family.

“He is leaving behind his dog, Bruno, who is going to deeply miss him, they were characters together – Vincent with his cheeky smile and Bruno being Bruno.

“Vincent was a huge part of his community and loved by everyone. When he was asked to be a godfather he couldn’t wait and now sadly that moment won’t come.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

One of Merseyside’s biggest-ever cannabis farms was worth up to a massive £13m every year, new calculations have revealed.

Four Vietnamese men, who helped grow a massive secret cannabis farm in high-rise flats in Everton – were jailed for a total of just over 13 years today.

But they were just the pawns, operating at the strict orders of much more powerful gangmasters who’d set up the widespread weed factories in Candia Towers, Jason Street.

Candia towers on Jason Street, Everton, where the cannabis farm was found

The growers, who sat solemnly in Liverpool Crown Court dock, were told they would be deported back to Vietnam after serving their separate 40-month prison sentences in the UK.

Le Nam, 49; Van Nguyen, 36; Thanh Dong, 49 and Doan Quynh, 39, regularly tended to the ‘sophisticated’ crop system, which was capable of producing a yield every five weeks.

They barely left the building, with Le Nam admitting to police not going outside at all over a four week period, as they fed and watered the sizeable crop.

New calculations of the annual profits now put the figure at higher than initially predicted, with sums of £13m every 12 months, investigators believe.

The Vietnamese men looked after cannabis farms spread across eight flats on different floors, with the promise of a share of the spoils from mob bosses who directed the whole criminal enterprise.

The cannabis farm found in Candia towers on Jason Street, Everton

But those percentages of the profits never materialised, beyond one-off payments of £200, and the senior operators are yet to be caught by Merseyside Police.

The huge cannabis farm was discovered when patrolling officers noticed a strong smell coming from the flats and then spotted tell-tale air vents attached to the windows.

Further checks revealed circuit breaks in the electricity system and windows covered with heavy-duty black plastic sheeting to deter any prying eyes.

The four Vietnamese men were found inside one of the flats, and a total of 2,055 plants were uncovered, able to produce 174,675 grams of cannabis every year.

The haul found when police entered could have netted, alone, between one and two millions pounds.

Scented candles were also found close to the crop in an unsuccessful bid to try and mask the stench of the Class B drug.

The Vietnamese workers all lived in the Everton tower block, but after completing their sentences, will be flown back to their native country.

Le Ban Nam, 50, of Candia Towers, Everton, was jailed for three years and four months after pleading guilty to the cultivation of cannabis

Thanh Duc Dong, 50, of no fixed abode was sentenced to three years and four months after pleading guilty to the cultivation of cannabis. Police discovered 2,000 cannabis plants worth up to £2m at flats in Candia Towers, Everton in June 2015.

Quynh had argued he was a victim of people trafficking, but Home Office enquiries proved that claim to be false, and he pleaded guilty to growing cannabis, like his three accomplices.

Dong had arrived in Britain legally which was a source of ‘joy and pride to his family’, but which now had turned to ‘shame, embarrassment and ridicule’, his barrister said.

Doan Quynh

Van Nguyen

Nguyen told UK authorities his involvement in the plot began when he was contacted by a mobile telephone call, and was ordered to visit Candia Towers – initially thinking he was needed to ‘move furniture.’

The vast cannabis farms were all bolstered by extra security, with an added interior door fitted to stop either police or rival drugs gangs gaining entry.

The high-rise building, with 60 flats inside, was mostly occupied by foreign families, and was a common location for asylum seekers arriving in Liverpool.

When police eventually got inside, they discovered flats awash with plants across three separate floors – three, six and eight levels off the ground, which took two days to dismantle.

Heat lamps, pots, compost, rubber glovers and face masks were all seized by officers during the clean-up, with experts later concluding each yield, would be collected for sale every five weeks.

Police remove heat lamps, pots and compost from the flats

The Vietnamese were taken advantage of during the drugs operation, being promised up to 9% return on the spoils, but never pocketing anything.

Some, like Quynh, were in the UK illegally, as he explained to police he’d come to Liverpool ‘in the back of a lorry’ after flying into France.

Qunyh, acquitted of a cannabis-related offence in 2013, has a young family in Vietnam, with two children aged three and 16, and a wife who he had hoped to send the money from the Everton farms to keep them safe.

Nguyen, the court heard, was married to a Vietnam woman who lives in Liverpool, and became a first-time father six weeks ago.

His barrister said: “If he is deported, he will never see that child again. He’s an illegal immigrant. He came here on a lorry. He was always going to end up in the hands of rogues.”

Paul Wood, representing Nam, added: “The people who live in some really poor conditions, they are the people who take the risk, but are at the {low} end of the pecking order, and are sadly before the court.

“My client had been given a hollow promise, and received nothing from it.”

The four Vietnamese men, who all wore plain grey sweatshirts, and had no friends or family in court, spoke very little English and needed an interpreter to translate the legal hearing.

Judge Andrew Hatton told them: “All four of you were involved in a joint enterprise to produce a significant amount of cannabis in a professional and sophisticated set-up.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Psychiatrists claimed a “severe” personality disorder may have led to the killer of Speke teenager Kelsey Shaw losing control and strangling her.

Callum Wilcocks, 23, of Hale Drive, Widnes , admits causing his on-off girlfriend’s death but claims his condition means he is only guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, rather than murder.

The issue of whether he was in control of his actions when he killed 17-year-old Kelsey at her friend’s flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes on April 29, 2011, is central to his trial at Liverpool Crown Court .

Wilcocks, who was a heavy drinker and had a regular cocaine habit, strangled the mum-of-one after a row about them seeing other people.

Today the court heard he met five of the nine categories used to diagnose Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), including impulsiveness, suicidal feelings and difficulty controlling anger.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Jonathan Shapero, told the court he believed Wilcocks suffered from a mixed personality disorder, featuring traits of BPD and another condition, Anti-Social Personality Disorder (ASPD).

Another expert witness, Dr Rajan Nathan, said he assessed Wilcocks in 2011 and believed him to be suffering from both BPD and ASPD at the time of Kelsey’s death.

Under questioning from defence counsel Gareth Evans, QC, Dr Shapero said: “All of us experience changes in mood, we may feel very down in a reactive way to things that may happen, we may perhaps talk about feeling down and not wanting to go on. But someone with personality disorder may have a very intense reaction to things that may seem quite minor.”

Dr Shapero assessed Wilcocks in 2013, and was told how the defendant had enjoyed stealing and deliberately crashing cars, and claimed to have committed up to 120 burglaries.

He said Wilcocks displayed a “callous disregard for social norms”, and claimed the only criminal offence he felt bad about was killing Kelsey.

The court heard the defendant had a history of suicide attempts, including trying to hang himself from the bars of a prison cell in 2008 while serving a sentence for robbery, after hearing Kelsey was seeing another man.

Kelsey Shaw from Speke

Wilcocks also talked about his relationship with Kelsey, telling Dr Shapero: “It was like I was addicted to the relationship. It felt like there was an attraction in my chest and she kept drawing me back to her.”

He told Dr Shapero that Kelsey had taunted him about being a bad lover, and told him their three-year-old daughter was not his child in the moments before the fatal attack.

Dr Shapero said Wilcocks’ description of Kelsey’s death demonstrated he may have been suffering from a “state of disassociation” while he was strangling her.

The jury heard that Wilcocks told him: “I was in my own world, I can’t describe what it was, I was in a state of mind where I had no feelings.”Dr Shapero said: “He was a man whose reactions to stressful circumstances were often extreme, he was a man whose reactions would be different from ours.”

Simon Medland, QC, prosecuting, pointed to a statement made by Wilcocks in one of his interviews with Dr Shapero, which said: “I never intended to kill Kelsey, I don’t think I formed a rational judgement to kill her at that time.”Mr Medland suggested Wilcocks used the phrase “rational judgement” because he knew it could help him be convicted of manslaughter rather than murder.

Dr Shapero replied: “No, this was two years later. I think he was rationalising his behaviour out of guilty feelings.”

Further medical evidence will be heard tomorrow.

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A second man has appeared in court charged with the murder of Garston teenager Vinny Waddington.

Vinny, 18, died after he was shot in Banks Lane, Garston in July.

Luke Kendrick, 25, formerly of Wharfdale Road, Garston but now of no fixed address, is also charged with attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Kendrick, with short black hair and wearing a blue and black tracksuit, remained in handcuffs during a brief appearance in the dock at Liverpool magistrates court.

Asked to confirm his address, he told the court: “I haven’t got one. I’m of no fixed abode”.

Kendrick did not enter a plea and no application for bail was made.

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Magistrates remanded him in custody until his next appearance at Liverpool Crown Court on Monday, November 30.

Ryan Bate, 23, had previously been charged with the murder of Vinny and appeared before Liverpool magistrates on November 16.

Bate was also charged with attempted wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm to a man called Francis Humphries.

Vinny was riding a scrambler bike when he was shot dead by a man in an Audi at 9pm on Tuesday, July 14.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Merseyside bouncy castle boss was stabbed by an ex-employee who set up a rival business, a court heard.

Anthony Bradley, 36, the owner of Munchkin’s Mascots, attacked Ryan O’Neill, who runs Mersey Mascots & Bouncy Castle Hire, in a row in Litherland in April.

Liverpool Crown Court heard today how Mr O’Neill discovered in January this year that Bradley, who used to work for Mersey Mascots, had founded an “almost identical” business.

Zia Chaudhry, prosecuting, told how, on April 28, Bradley pulled up outside Mr O’Neill’s house in St David’s Grove in a car and got out appearing angry and agitated.

He said: “The defendant walked straight up to him and started making what amounted to threats towards Mr O’Neill.

“Both parties then walked towards the vehicle and were stood talking, but the defendant suddenly made a motion towards the victim and he felt a pain in his abdomen.”

Bradley, of Dagnall Road in Kirkby, was arrested by Merseyside Police around 25 minutes later.

He pleaded guilty to wounding, admitting that he stuck Mr O’Neill in the stomach with either his car keys or a “jagged ring”.

Mr Chaudhry said: “Mr O’Neill employs around 11 people, and towards the end of 2011 he employed this defendant.

“He had never met him before this time and never had any fallings out with him while he was employed.

“However there came a time at the end of November 2014 that the defendant did not turn up for work, and he never contacted Mr O’Neill again after that.”

At the time of the incident, a friend of Mr O’Neill told the ECHO: “My friend owns a company and they do birthday parties, with bouncy castles, costumes, things like that.

“It’s really shocking just to think someone could do something like that.”

Judge Robert Trevor-Jones said he would adjourn the case for Bradley to be assessed on his suitability to undergo a drugs rehabilitation order.

He said he was considering a suspended sentence or community order.

Bradley is now due to be sentenced on Monday, December 14.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Liverpool judge who was branded “rude”, “unprincipled” and “unfair” has been reprimanded for “serious misconduct” following an investigation into his conduct.

Judge Robert Stephen Dodds, who sits at the family court in Liverpool, was investigated by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office (JCIO) after he was rebuked twice by Court of Appeal judges and told that he should be embarrassed by his conduct.

The JCIO opened an investigation in February after complaints from several Merseyside families who have had their children taken into care following orders made by Judge Dodds.

Liverpool law firm Quality Solicitors Jackson Canter, who were involved in one of the cases criticised by the Court of Appeal, also made a formal complaint.

The JCIO today confirmed that Judge Dodds had been reprimanded over his conduct and management of three court cases, which they said amounted to serious misconduct.

A spokesman said there was no evidence of misconduct on HHJ Dodds’ part in relation to a fourth case.

Judge Dodds was rebuked for using “unrestrained and immoderate language” after he told a 13-year-old girl that her case for a DNA test on her father, to which both parents had agreed, was “codswallop”.

The judge dismissed the application, telling the court: “The lunatics had truly taken over the asylum, and that just because the lunatics had said that they wanted something did not mean that they should be spoon-fed.”

He said he “resented” having to spend some of his Saturday reading “codswallop” and suggested that the girl pay for the DNA test herself, rather than through legal aid.

Senior judges said his remarks constituted a “serious procedural irregularity” and said the judge’s language was to be “deplored”.

They said: “Appointment as a judge was not a licence to be gratuitously rude to those appearing before him.”

Judge Dodds was also criticised by appeal court superiors over another hearing which saw an 11-year-old boy separated from his mum.

Appeal judges branded Judge Robert Dodds “unprincipled and “unfair” after he made an on-the-spot decision to force apart a family at a hearing that was only supposed to plot the future path of the case.

They said he dismissed the boy’s hopes of living with his mum “within a matter of minutes” on the basis of an out-of-date report by social workers.

He dismissed the report by the boy’s guardian as “Victorian detail” – and “made abundantly clear…his determination to conclude the case there and then,” the appeal judges said.

His conduct was condemned by the country’s most senior family judge, Sir James Munby.

In am appeal ruling, he said: “No dispassionate observer of the proceedings could think that justice was done, let alone that it was seen to be done. It was not.”

He added: “A parent facing the removal of their child must be entitled to put their case to the court, however seemingly forlorn.

“It is one of the oldest principles of our law – it goes back over 400 years, to the earliest years of the seventeenth century – that no-one is to be condemned unheard.”

The sign outside The Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, central London. Photo: Nick Ansell/PA Wire

Lord Justice Lewison added that justice could not be done “when a judge has apparently made up his mind before hearing argument or evidence.”

He said: “A closed mind is incompatible with the administration of justice.”

Several Merseyside families who have had their children taken into care contacted the ECHO after Court of Appeal concerns over the judge’s conduct were reported.

A spokesperson for the JCIO said: “His Honour Judge Robert Stephen Dodds, a family court circuit judge, was criticised by the Court of Appeal in relation to his conduct and case

management of four court cases – Re A, Re P, Re S and Re S-W.

“The Lord Chancellor and Lord Chief Justice have considered the matter in accordance with the Judicial Discipline (Prescribed Procedures) Regulations 2014, and have issued HHJ Dodds a reprimand after finding

that his actions in relation to Re A, Re S-W and Re P amounted to serious misconduct.

“There was no evidence of misconduct on HHJ Dodds’ part in relation to the case of Re S.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The killer of Speke teenager Kelsey Shaw was not suffering from a “severe” personality disorder, a leading psychiatrist claimed today.

Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Laurence Chesterman told Liverpool Crown Court he “markedly disagreed” with the evidence of expert defence witnesses Dr Rajan Nathan and Dr Jonathan Shapero on the mental state of Callum Wilcocks, now 23.

Wilcocks, of Hale Drive in Widnes , throttled his on-off girlfriend to death at her friend’s flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes, on April 29 2011, after a row about them seeing other people.

He admits causing the 17-year-old mum of one’s death, but claims his condition meant he is only guilty of manslaughter, rather than murder.

Yesterday Dr Nathan said Wilcocks suffered from severe Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), characterised by chronic impulsiveness, difficulty controlling anger and repeated attempts at suicide and self harm.

But Dr Chesterman claimed Wilcocks did not present the “pervasive, persistent, frequent and severe” behaviours he would expect of a patient with severe BPD in 2011, when he was first assessed.

Wilcocks, who drank heavily and had a regular cocaine habit, did admit to having a “problem with women” and “being told what to do” by female prison guards.

Under questioning from prosecution counsel Simon Medland, QC, Dr Chesterman said: “I take the view that BPD is completely incompatible with the information available.

“A person with BPD in prison would not just be troublesome, they would display odd, disturbed behaviour. They would seem to be ill, prison officers don’t understand their behaviour and prisons aren’t equipped to deal with such individuals. They are frequently admitted into hospital.”

The court heard he spoke to prison guards at the time of the assessment, in August 2011, who described Wilcocks as “unremarkable.”

Dr Chesterman said he asked Wilcocks a series of questions which normally over-diagnose BPD, but still did not find sufficient evidence of the condition.

He said although Wilcocks claimed he would occasionally self-harm before Kelsey’s death, someone with severe BPD would normally be expected to have self-harmed up to “hundreds” of times.

Mr Medland asked him about Wilcocks’ behaviour in 2014, which the court heard became more severe and involved several suicide attempts.

The court heard the defendant was thrown out of a specialist unit for prisoners with personality disorders after four months for disruptive behaviour, including drug dealing, bullying sex offenders and arguing with staff.

Dr Chesterman said he believed Wilcocks was trying to appear mentally ill, and pointed to phrases he had used in clinical assessments including “I didn’t make a rational decision to kill her” and “I have negative ruminations.”

Callum Wilcocks

He suggested Wilcocks was deliberately exaggerating his problems and attempting to mimic clinical language. He said: “That is clearly not a phrase that an inmate normally uses.”

The court also heard patients with severe BPD cannot change or modulate their behaviour to suit different situations.

Gareth Evans, QC, defending, suggested that Wilcocks would also underplay his problems, telling doctors he had no issues when in fact he would be regularly involved in fights and clash with prison staff.

Dr Chesterman said: “Yes, his accounts were inconsistent.”

He agreed with Mr Evans that Wilcocks’ more recent behaviour showed stronger evidence of BPD, but claimed personality disorders can sometimes develop among prisoners.

The jury will be sent to consider their verdicts on Monday.

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Key Events So Far 41 secs ago CLOSING SPEECHES Key event CLOSING SPEECHES

I am in Liverpool Crown Court for day six of the trial of Callum Wilcocks, who strangled his on-off girlfriend to death.

Wilcocks, now 23, killed 17-year-old mum of one Kelsey Marie Shaw on the afternoon of April 29, 2011, after a row about them seeing other people.

The pair had spent the previous night drinking and snorting cocaine with Kelseys friend Rebecca McDonald, at Miss McDonalds flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes.

Wilcocks admits killing Kelsey but claims a severe personality disorder means he is only guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, rather than murder.

Last week the court heard conflicting opinions from psychiatrists on Wilcocks mental state.

Today the prosecution and defence counsels will deliver their closing speeches to the jury, before judge Mr Justice Holroyde will sum up the case and send the jury out to reach a verdict.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The killer of Widnes teenager Kelsey Shaw sobbed in the witness box today as he relived the moment he strangled the mum of one.

Callum Wilcocks, now 23, killed his on-off girlfriend Kelsey at a flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes, on the afternoon of April 29, 2011, after a row about him cheating on her.

He admits causing Kelsey’s death but claims he is only guilty of manslaughter, due to a combination of mental illness and a loss of control.

At Liverpool Crown Court today Wilcocks obbed and frequently struggled to maintain his composure.

Under questioning from defence counsel Gareth Evans, QC, Wilcocks claimed Kelsey told him their baby was not his and taunted him about his sexual performance in the moments before the attack.

He said: “(Kelsey) told me she wished I had killed myself. She had never said anything like that to me before.

“…It was the worst pain and heartbreak I had ever felt in my life, ever. It was absolutely devastating to hear.”

He said he initially choked her briefly to “make her be quiet,” but let her go.

However the argument resumed and Wilcocks grabbed her around the neck again causing her to lose consciousness, before continuing to strangle her with his hand while she lay on the floor.

He said: “I couldn’t seem to control what was going on.”

Mr Evans asked: “You told police in relation to this strangling you intended her to die, is that right?”

Wilcocks said: “Yes.”

Callum Wilcocks

The pair had been drinking and snorting cocaine together the previous night with Kelsey’s friend Rebecca McDonald, who lived in the flat.

Wilcocks attacked Kelsey by the front door of the flat the following afternoon, while Miss McDonald had taken her baby son to her mum’s address.

The court heard Miss McDonald returned either during, or seconds after the attack.

Mr Evans asked Wilcocks what happened when Miss McDonald returned.

He said: “At that stage after Kelsey was on the floor, the door hit me I have sort of snapped out of whatever frame of mind I found myself in and instantly thought what the hell am I doing.

“I immediately opened her mouth and tried to pick her back up and wake her up. I was breathing into her mouth.”

The court also heard about Wilcocks ‘difficult upbringing, and claims he had been bullied by his parents and siblings.

He said he “did not fit in” at school and attempted suicide several times in the years before Kelsey’s death.

Wilcocks said: “I just couldn’t cope with life, I just couldn’t cope with it. I found life in general too much to deal with.”

He also told the court he had also attempted suicide while in prison since being arrested for the killing.

Mr Evans revealed his client had also been diagnosed with a personality disorder while in prison.

The court heard he and two friends would spend £800 on cocaine every weekend, which he funded by committing crime.

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Liverpool primary school headteacher has lost her job after neglecting an elderly dog until the animal smelt “like rotted flesh”.

Susan Horncastle, 60, of Brookthorpe Close, Wallasey , left West Highland terrier Snowy “suffering on numerous levels” until the dog had to be put down.

Horncastle, who was headteacher at Our Lady of Good Help in Wavertree , pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal at Wirral Magistrates Court.

The court heard Horncastle has lost her job of 18 years since the allegations came to light.

Sentencing her to three months in prison, suspended for two years, district judge Michael Abelson said: “Your are a lady of exemplary character, but in no way could it possibly excuse your behaviour when it came to this unfortunate animal.”

An animal welfare officer called at her home on July 10 after concerns were raised about the welfare of the dog.

The court was told there was no answer but the officer could smell an “overpowering” stench of “rotting flesh”.

Liverpool headteacher Susan Horncastle has been banned from keeping animals for life after a court heard her 17-year-old West Highland terrier Snowy “suffered on numerous levels”. Photo from the RSPCA

The 17-year-old dog, which was underweight, had an untreated ear infection and an infected tumour on its rear. He was later taken to a Wallasey veterinary surgery, where vets initially thought it was dead.

Upon examination it was found to be alive but was put to sleep to end his suffering.

Chris Murphy, prosecuting, said: “When the dog was found he was in a very poor condition. Inspector Anthony Joynes from the RSPCA took the carcass to Holly Jones, a vet, who said his ribs could be clearly seen and he was covered in faeces.”

"Weeks, if not months, of suffering"

Further examination from a second vet found the dog to have “greasy and matted” fur and loose teeth.

Mr Murphy added: “The vet said the dog was in a shocking condition after several weeks, if not months, of suffering on numerous levels.”

The court heard Horncastle had initially denied owning any animals.

Liverpool headteacher Susan Horncastle has been banned from keeping animals for life after a court heard her 17-year-old West Highland terrier Snowy “suffered on numerous levels”. Photo from the RSPCA

She later said she had looked after the dog on an on-off basis for four years when her sister, who lives in London, was in Australia.

Matthew Harvey, defending, said that Horncastle suffers from two forms of arthritis and has limited mobility.

He said her poor health meant she was unable to lift Snowy and could not see the mass on his rear until some of his fur was cut away.

The dog was taken to the vets by her son, who said he had been collapsed for about a week.

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Mr Harvey said his client had received “threatening” letters which are being investigated by police.

RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: “This was a serious case of prolonged neglect. Snowy suffered, in my opinion, a catalogue of neglect. It would have been all too obvious to Horncastle that Snowy was suffering.”

Horncastle was also ordered to pay RSPCA costs of £997 and court costs of £150.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A Liverpool primary school headteacher has lost her job after neglecting an elderly dog until the animal smelt “like rotted flesh”.

Susan Horncastle, 60, of Brookthorpe Close, Wallasey , left West Highland terrier Snowy “suffering on numerous levels” until the dog had to be put down.

Horncastle, who was headteacher at Our Lady of Good Help in Wavertree , pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to an animal at Wirral Magistrates Court.

The court heard Horncastle has lost her job of 18 years since the allegations came to light.

Sentencing her to three months in prison, suspended for two years, district judge Michael Abelson said: “You are a lady of exemplary character, but in no way could it possibly excuse your behaviour when it came to this unfortunate animal.”

An animal welfare officer called at her home on July 10 after concerns were raised about the welfare of the dog.

The court was told there was no answer but the officer could smell an “overpowering” stench of “rotting flesh”.

Liverpool headteacher Susan Horncastle has been banned from keeping animals for life after a court heard her 17-year-old West Highland terrier Snowy “suffered on numerous levels”. Photo from the RSPCA

The 17-year-old dog, which was underweight, had an untreated ear infection and an infected tumour on its rear. He was later taken to a Wallasey veterinary surgery, where vets initially thought it was dead.

Upon examination it was found to be alive but was put to sleep to end his suffering.

Chris Murphy, prosecuting, said: “When the dog was found he was in a very poor condition. Inspector Anthony Joynes from the RSPCA took the carcass to Holly Jones, a vet, who said his ribs could be clearly seen and he was covered in faeces.”

"Weeks, if not months, of suffering"

Further examination from a second vet found the dog to have “greasy and matted” fur and loose teeth.

Mr Murphy added: “The vet said the dog was in a shocking condition after several weeks, if not months, of suffering on numerous levels.”

The court heard Horncastle had initially denied owning any animals.

Liverpool headteacher Susan Horncastle has been banned from keeping animals for life after a court heard her 17-year-old West Highland terrier Snowy “suffered on numerous levels”. Photo from the RSPCA

She later said she had looked after the dog on an on-off basis for four years when her sister, who lives in London, was in Australia.

Matthew Harvey, defending, said that Horncastle suffers from two forms of arthritis and has limited mobility.

He said her poor health meant she was unable to lift Snowy and could not see the mass on his rear until some of his fur was cut away.

The dog was taken to the vets by her son, who said he had been collapsed for about a week.

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Mr Harvey said his client had received “threatening” letters which are being investigated by police.

RSPCA Inspector Anthony Joynes said: “This was a serious case of prolonged neglect. Snowy suffered, in my opinion, a catalogue of neglect. It would have been all too obvious to Horncastle that Snowy was suffering.”

Horncastle was also ordered to pay RSPCA costs of £997 and court costs of £150.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man whose threats to jump from a railway bridge led to signal problems in Runcorn and near Widnes has been jailed for four months.

Michael Livingstone, 45, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at South Cheshire Magistrates’ Court on Friday, November 20, after pleading guilty to obstructing the railway, following a British Transport Police (BTP) investigation.

The charge followed an incident shortly before 5.30pm on Wednesday, October 28, year when Livingstone climbed onto a railway bridge on Hungerford Road, Crewe, and sat on the parapet in a precarious position.

As he was sat directly above live rails, trains had to be cancelled and the electricity supply cut off.

This resulted in signalling problems at stations including Runcorn, Liverpool Lime Street, Warrington and Manchester Piccadilly and at Ditton Junction near Widnes and Speke and had a knock on effect on trains across the entire rail network.

After a four-hour stand off police negotiators managed to talk Livingstone down from the bridge.

A BTP spokeswoman said the total delay to trains as a results of Livingstone’s actions was 10,602 minutes, with 60 trains being cancelled and a cost to Network Rail of £1.3m.

In police interview Livingstone admitted the offence.

He was jailed last Friday and ordered to pay in £345 in court costs.

Chief inspector Sue Peters said: “This case clearly emphasises the impact of trespass and obstructing the railway.

“Livingstone’s actions affected a significant part of the rail network and the severity of his actions, along with the considerable cost incurred, are reflected in the custodial sentence handed to him.

“Incidents like these cause huge delays and have far reaching consequences, not least to the travelling public, many of whom had trains cancelled for several hours.”

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man who allegedly decapitated another man’s pet dog is to go on trial accused of criminal damage.

Paul Jenkins, 27, was charged with the offence after allegedly “destroying” the tiny Shar Pei, which belonged to a man called Sean Smith.

Jenkins, of St Ives Grove, Old Swan, is also accused of causing unnecessary suffering to an animal, affray and possession of a bladed article, during the same incident in November last year.

It is alleged that the defendant, formerly of Sugar Lane, Knowsley Village , caused Mr Smith to fear for his safety.

Jenkins appeared at Liverpool Crown Court this morning where he pleaded not guilty to all four offences.

The bearded defendant, with short brown hair and wearing a white shirt and black tie in the dock, spoke only to enter his pleas.

Judge Denis Watson, QC, said a trial expected to last two to three days would be held on the week commencing January 25 next year.

The judge remanded Jenkins on conditional bail.

Merseyside Police have previously said the alleged offence was deemed as criminal damage because the dog was classed as property.

Under the Criminal Damage Act 1971, “property” includes wild creatures which have been tamed or are ordinarily kept in captivity.

The maximum sentence is a fine or three months in prison.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A constable snooped on confidential police computers about her relatives and their boyfriends after they got embroiled in crime, a misconduct panel was told.

PC Paula Humphreys is accused of illegally accessing off-limits parts of the force database, without alerting her bosses, which is an alleged breach of her public duty.

The officer, the disciplinary panel heard, used the computer to investigate her niece after a report was made of a bust-up between her and her boyfriend.

It is also alleged that in 2013 the 43-year-old used the database to check up on her sister Dawn’s boyfriend – Lee Gallagher – who had been arrested over possession of 146g of heroin, with a street value of £56,000.

Gallagher, the Humphreys said, had been ‘furtive’ around her, taking phone calls away from her, and seemed to behave in a ‘suspicious’ manner around her.

He was later jailed for four years and six months for conspiring to supply drugs, a Merseyside Police disciplinary panel, sitting in Wavertree Technology Park, was told.

Married Humphreys also stumped up £25,000 bail surety when her niece – Jodie MacDonald – was arrested in Bristol for money laundering, but she didn’t notify her superiors.

MacDonald later pleaded guilty to an offence of transferring criminal property and was ordered to carry out 240 hours community service.

Humphreys, who was based at Kirkby and Huyton police stations, told the misconduct hearing she failed to flag up that family connection as she{MacDonald} ‘wasn’t a close relative.’

She added: “In hindsight, I should have reported it. I can see {that} now.

“She could have never compromised me as I had no relationship with her. She is my sister’s daughter. I can’t control what she does or how she behaves.”

Humphreys, who has worked in CID and Merseyside Police’s Domestic Violence Unit, was quizzed about why she signed a driving licence for her sister Dawn’s partner – Gallagher – so he could get a job.

PC Paula Humphreys is to face a disciplinary probe today over allegations she used force computers inappropriately. Pictured here is a general view of Gardner Systems in Wavertree Liverpool, where the hearing is held.

A month later, the panel heard, his heroin peddling came to light.

The suspended officer, from West Derby , said: “I’d gone to my sister’s address. She asked if I’d fill in a form for him. My sister asked if I would sign a driving licence form, so he could get a bank account and so get a job.

“So I did that. It was a declaration of identity that he was who he said he was.”

Humphreys was last summer acquitted by magistrates of illegally looking at police computer systems in 2011 and 2012 while in Kirkby, and doing the same in 2013, when based at Huyton.

PC Humphreys insisted her computer checks were to ensure her job at the force would not be ‘compromised’ and denied any sinister motives.

The cop said: “I wanted to conduct a risk assessment for myself and the force.”

Her lawyer Steven Crossley, asking PC Humphreys about her repeated computer searches, added: “Was it to assist individuals or to assist Merseyside Police?”

PC Humphreys: “Always to assist Merseyside Police.

“I did it for the image of Merseyside Police.”

Mr Crossley asked: “Would you ever betray the image of Merseyside Police?

PC Humphreys replied: : “No, never sir.”

(Proceeding)

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A man who knocked out a student’s teeth at Liverpool’s city centre McDonald’s was a convicted murderer out of prison on day release, it can today be reported.

Paul Branchflower, 32, was jailed for life with a minimum of 13 years behind bars after mowing down Glynn Ellis, 46, in Manchester in 2002.

He was today found guilty of one count of assault.

Fighting broke out at 6am in the Lord Street restaurant on September 7 when Branchflower, together with an unidentified man, dressed in black, launched an attack.

Branchflower was said to have bounced around “like a boxer” before attacking Ross Stephenson and then casually waiting for his food afterwards.

Victim had to have emergency root canal

Mr Stephenson, 20, saw two teeth fly from his mouth and land by a pillar.

He was taken to hospital where his teeth were put into a glass of milk before undergoing emergency root canal treatment for dental damage, including a third fractured tooth.

Branchflower was jailed for life for running over and killing a man whose car he was stealing.

He he ran over Manchester United fan Glynn Ellis, of Knaresborough, North Yorks, outside Mr Ellis’ brother’s home in Salford Quays in August 2002.

McDonald’s in Lord Street, Liverpool

Mr Ellis had parked his Ford Mondeo there after going to watch United beat Zalaegerszegi 5-0 in a Champions League match at Old Trafford.

He had left the engine running as he went to close the garage door.

Branchflower – who at 19 already had 47 previous convictions – leapt into the car and ran over Mr Ellis as he tried to drive away, leaving the vehicle on top of him.

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, adjourned sentencing until Wednesday after a jury guilty found him guilty of causing actual bodily harm to Mr Stephenson.

He was found not guilty of the same offence in relation to another man, Stuart Workman.

‘His teeth were knocked clean out’

Andrew Ford, prosecuting, said an argument developed between Lewis Gill, a friend of Mr Stephenson’s, and another man, before Branchflower intervened and “efficiently dispatched left and right punches to Ross Stephenson”.

Mr Ford said: “His teeth were knocked clean out. Branchflower was seen to stand like a boxer would before being tackled by the crowd.

“Ross Stephenson was stunned. He found his teeth on the ground. The defendant carried on waiting for his food.”

Branchflower was later traced and arrested after a police appeal was published in the ECHO.

He gave no comment in police interview.

Branchflower, of no fixed abode but originally from Manchester, represented himself during the trial.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

A jury has been sent out to consider whether the killer of Speke teenager Kelsey Shaw was “in control of his actions” when he strangled her.

Callum Wilcocks, now 23, admits using an arm-lock and then his hands to choke the 17-year-old mum-of-one to death at her friend’s flat in Foundry Lane, Widnes , in April 2011, after a row about them seeing other people.

But Wilcocks, of Hale Drive, Widnes, says a severe personality disorder means he is only guilty of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility, rather than murder.

Today a jury at Liverpool Crown Court were told to decide whether or not Wilcocks experienced either a loss of control or an “abnormality of mental function arising from a recognised medical condition” at the time.

But in his closing speech to the jury, prosecuting counsel Simon Medland, QC, said: “The picture here is of young man who didn’t have the best upbringing, there will be many who had worse upbringings, there will be many who had better.

“He may not have exhibited the best behaviour, as I’m sure many in a custodial setting would not, but all of that is a long way away from excusing what he did to Kelsey Shaw when he murdered her.”

Mr Medland said Wilcocks had come “nowhere near” proving he was not responsible for his actions and was “pushing the excuse” of his medical condition.

He said: “It must be comfortable for him to think, I have killed my girlfriend Kelsey by strangling her but I’m not responsible because I’m ill.”

But Gareth Evans, QC, defending, claimed the evidence of expert witnesses Dr Rajan Nathan and Dr Jonathan Shapero said Wilcocks was suffering from a severe personality disorder, which could have affected his ability to control his actions.

Describing Wilcocks as “damaged goods” and “abnormal,” he said: “Callum Wilcocks has not been normal since a very early age. He says he felt unloved, uncared for. He says he always felt different, he felt like an outsider. You have heard he was bullied by his siblings, who called him ‘spudhead’. He did not fit into his own family.”

Callum Wilcocks

Wilcocks had claimed that in the heated row before her death, Kelsey said their daughter was not his child and that he would never see her again, that he was useless and should kill himself, and that he was sexually inferior to another man she had been seeing.

Mr Evans said the “barrage of threats, insults and revelations” acted as a “qualifying trigger” under the law regarding loss of self control.

He said: “The intensity and the number of those insults we say is very important. Each was a hammer blow, one after the other.”

But Mr Medland pointed out that Wilcocks made no mention of these comments in his police interview, and suggested he had invented them.

He also claimed Dr Nathan had been “extraordinarily generous” in his assessment of Wilcocks, and that other experts had suggested Wilcocks was cynically exaggerating his symptoms.

The jury will resume their deliberations tomorrow morning.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

The daughter of a man killed in a motorway pile-up caused by a distracted lorry driver described her dad as the “ultimate family man”.

Kirkby man Mark Done, 51, was crushed to death when his stationary Citroen was hit by Peter Tootle’s Volvo lorry on the M53 in Wirral.

Tootle was today jailed for two-and-a-half years after admitting death by dangerous driving.

The crash also left another man with life-changing injuries.

In a statement, Mr Done’s daughter, Sophie, described Mr Done as her “best friend”, adding that he “made a lasting impression on everyone he met”.

Miss Done said: “My dad was the ultimate family man who adored his children and wife. He is my hero.”

The dad-of-three was on a day trip with his wife Diane to Llandudno in Wales, where the couple had first met 32 years before, on September 30 last year.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Tootle ploughed into the rear of Mr Done’s vehicle, which was queuing in traffic near the junction 4 turn-off for Bebington.

Lorry driver Peter Tootle, 61, of Naomi Close, Blacon, Chester jailed for two and half years for a crash on the M53 which killed Mark Done

The collision shunted the car into eight other vehicles, severely injuring Paul Johnson in the car ahead and leaving him with “profound and permanent” injuries.

Sophie said his loss “haunted” her and the nightmares, depression and stress led to her suffering a miscarriage.

Mr Done’s eldest sister Pauline described the professional coach driver and qualified pilot as an inspirational figure, who achieved the unexpected in life.

She said: “Upon hearing the news of my brother’s death, something inside me broke. The pain was unbelievable.

“Fourteen months have passed and that pain is still ripping my chest apart.”

Tootle, 61, of Naomi Close, Blacon, Chester, admitted causing Mr Done’s death and serious injury to Paul Johnson by dangerous driving.

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said: “This was a straight road, a sunny cloudless day, and the defendant in any view ran straight into the back of a queue of traffic that was there to be seen.”

Kim Egerton, prosecuting, said 40mph warning signs were in place after an earlier crash on the motorway, which caused the tailback.

Tootle said he had moved from the first to the second lane to allow another lorry to join the motorway.

He claimed he was waiting to be flashed to be let back in but made the manoeuvre anyway.

Mrs Done spotted the lorry approaching them at speed and told her husband: “This lorry is coming up too fast”.

Miss Egerton said: “Her next recollection is in someone else’s car asking for her husband.”

She suffered two broken vertebrae and slipped discs and is still undergoing treatment for her back injuries.

Mr Johnson remembered nothing of the crash and woke up in hospital eight weeks later. He now needs 24-hour care.

He was left with bleeding on the brain, shattered ribs, punctured lungs, a smashed arm and the base of his spine was fractured.

Emergency services on the M53

Other drivers and passengers who described the “explosion” of the crash suffered cuts, bruising and whiplash.

This included a woman who was on her way to receive chemotherapy for cancer. She had to be given oxygen at the scene and spent a week in hospital.

Witnesses described a tearful and “very remorseful” Tootle holding his head in his hands and repeating that “he caused it all”.

Crash investigators said the cars would have been in view for 14 seconds and Tootle had an unobstructed view for eight seconds, but he did not apply his brakes.

Mr Done’s family cried in the public gallery and Tootle sobbed and rocked back and forth in the dock as harrowing footage of the crash taken from his cab was played in court.

Harpreet Sandhu, defending, said Tootle, a married grandad, was of previous good character and this was “in every sense a tragedy”.

He said: “This was a man whose remorse was instant.”

Judge Menary said the footage of the crash was “truly shocking” and family statements “particularly moving”.

He said: “Tragically you drove your HGV directly into the rear of Mr Done’s car.

“The evidence is clear – you did not make any effort at all to slow down or to brake or to alter the direction of your travel, despite the fact the queue of traffic was visible for some 400 metres.

“You must have been avoidably distracted for a substantial length of time.

“It’s still not clear what you were doing at the time or why you failed to stop.

“I have no doubt the families of those killed or injured in this tragic event will be wondering what you were doing.

“There is no evidence you were using a mobile phone or affected by fatigue, but you were not keeping a proper look-out, that much is clear, and the results were truly awful.”

The judge accepted that Tootle was genuinely remorseful.

He banned him from the road for six years and three months.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/

Key Events So Far 58 mins ago ALISON WILSON MURDER TRIAL 11:36 DUGGAN

Duggan is defended by Peter Birkett, QC, and junior counsel Ian McMeekin.

The defendant, with short dark hair, has been brought into court.

He is wearing a black suit with a white shirt and blue tie in the dock.

11:36 TRIAL JUDGE AND COUNSEL

The trial judge is High Court judge Mr Justice Timothy Holroyde.

The case is being prosecuted by Gordon Cole, QC, and his junior counsel Simon Duncan.

Duggan is defended by Peter Birkett, QC, and his junior counsel Ian McMeekin.

Key event ALISON WILSON MURDER TRIAL

A man will go on trial today accused of murdering Good Samaritan mum-of-two Alison Wilson.

Stephen Duggan, 28, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 36-year-old, from Widnes, but denies her murder on Saturday, March 7 this year.

He is alleged to have thrust a broken wine bottle into Ms Wilsons neck after she tried to stop him attacking a woman in Frank Street, Halton View, Widnes.

Duggan, of no fixed address, has admitted assaulting the woman and wounding another passer-by, Anthony Tomlinson, 43, who was in a taxi with Ms Wilson.

However, the defendant denies the wounding with intent of Mr Tomlinson and a charge of assault causing actual bodily harm against a baby who was at the scene.

Doctors tried to save Miss Wilson but she died six days later in hospital on March 13.

Source: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/